Col. Amnon Eshel Assulin, Commander of the IDF Armored Brigade, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday IDF troops operating in the village of Bint Jbeil, considered the "capital of terror" in southern Lebanon, had proven their ability to reach any location in Lebanon, and could even enter Beirut if the government decided on that course of action.
Assulin told the Post that that IDF had taken control over Bint Jbeil and had so far killed at least 40 Hizbullah guerrillas.
"The town is completely controlled by us," Asulin said, adding that dozens of Hizbullah guerrillas had been killed in clashes with Golani troops, paratroopers, and tanks.
Soldiers, Assulin said, took the guerrillas captive during the fighting. He said that there were still pockets of resistance on the outskirts of the village, and most of the Hizbullah guerrillas left inside, just under 100, were hiding in the Kasbah marketplace.
The IDF was still encountering Hizbullah guerrillas who were shooting form inside mosques, hospitals, and schools. They take advantage of the population, Assulin said, "But the IDF has high moral values and does its best to avoid harming anyone uninvolved."
The operation in Bint Jbeil, initially slated to take 48-72 hours, would last as long as necessary to kill all the Hizbullah terrorists and destroy the infrastructure there, Assulin said.
"Two tank battalions fought bravely, killed terrorists, and evacuated their wounded comrades from the battlefield," Assulin told the Post when describing the fighting in Bint Jbeil since early Monday. He said that infantry battalions were working cohesively with tanks, and that "one could not exist without the other."
Also on Tuesday, Lt.-Col. Avi Mano, commander of the Keren artillery battalion, told the Post Tuesday that his cannons have fired 3000 shells at Bint Jbeil since the beginning of operations there earlier this week.
Mano said artillery cannons are capable of making direct hits on houses and other targets, while causing more damage than Katyusha rockets cause in Israel.
The artillery battery is stationed along the northern border in conjunction with an artillery officer who accompanies infantry troops into Lebanon to provide coordinates for artillery fire.
"One of our significant accomplishments is that we are helping infantry troops in Lebanon fulfill their mission by providing them with artillery cover fire," Mano said.
[The operation] would last as long as necessary to kill all the Hizbullah terrorists.
No mincing of words there!
This is GOOD news.
Godspeed IDF!
That Lebanon is not choosing to work with international forces to get rid of these barbarians speaks volumes about the goverment there.
ScaniaBoy wrote:
Assulin told the Post that that IDF had taken control over Bint Jbeil and had so far killed at least 40 Hizbullah guerrillas.
"The town is completely controlled by us," Asulin said, adding that dozens of Hizbullah guerrillas had been killed in clashes with Golani troops, paratroopers, and tanks.
Nice shooting, guys, go IDF. Get some for me.