LEBANON: Munitions explode in house in southern village

Record ID: 359276

  • Title: LEBANON: Munitions explode in house in southern village
  • Date: 4th September 2010
  • Summary: SHIHABIYAH, LEBANON (SEPTEMBER 3, 2010) (REUTERS) STREET IN THE VILLAGE OF SHIHABIYA LEBANESE SOLDIERS AND PEOPLE GATHERED SOLDIERS IN STREET LEBANESE MILITARY VEHICLE VARIOUS OF LEBANESE SOLDIERS UN VEHICLE DRIVING UN VEHICLES
  • Embargoed: 19th September 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVAB3N3NHLIE3MR618H2VTKZ7XEV
  • Story Text: A fire in a southern Lebanese village detonated grenades and other munitions on Friday (September 3), a security source said, causing several loud explosions.
    The explosions occurred in an area close to Lebanon's southern border with Israel, a stronghold of the guerrilla group Hezbollah. The region, patrolled by U.N. peacekeepers and the Lebanese army, is supposed to be free of weapons.
    The security source said a fire started outside a house in the village of Shihabiya, about 15 km (10 miles) east of the coastal town of Tyre.
    When it spread to the three-storey house it detonated eight rocket-propelled grenades, some hand grenades and other ammunition. Two gas canisters also exploded, the source said.
    An army source also said the blasts bore the hallmarks of munitions exploding. But a Hezbollah source said they had been caused by an electricity generator bursting into flames and igniting two barrels of diesel nearby.
    There was no immediate report of casualties.
    Witnesses said a United Nations helicopter hovered over the area and the Lebanese army sealed off the road leading up to the house where the explosions occurred. Journalists said Hezbollah security personnel barred them from filming and confiscated some of their cameras.
    In July 2009 a weapons stockpile exploded in southern Lebanon and the United Nations peacekeeping chief said there were signs that it belonged to Hezbollah, which fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006.
    A Hezbollah lawmaker at the time would only say the blast was a one-off accident that involved the explosion of an arms cache that had been in place before the war.
    Under the terms of a U.N. Security Council resolution which ended the 2006 war, southern Lebanon should be free of all weapons other than those carried by the army of UNIFIL forces.
    An Israeli military spokesman said his country had "no connection" to Friday's incident.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register