Posted on 07/25/2006 4:48:47 AM PDT by SJackson
IDF controls 'terror capital' Bint Jbeil
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.
..................
IAF strikes 15 Katyusha launchers
IDF destroys launcher that fired 16 rockets at Haifa; 4 soldiers wounded.
IAF aircraft destroyed on Tuesday afternoon the Hizbullah Katyusha launcher that fired 16 rockets at Haifa less than an hour before, wounding 23 people. The strike was the latest in a series of IAF offensives against Hizbullah targets on Tuesday morning.
In the first few hours of daylight, the IAF struck 15 Katyusha launch sites in south Lebanon. In addition, the IDF destroyed 18 Hizbullah buildings in Tyre, six weapons warehouses throughout Lebanon and two cars suspected of carrying Hizbullah operatives near Tyre.
Earlier Tuesday morning, four IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in a gun battle with Hizbullah operatives in southern Lebanon.
All four were evacuated to a hospital in Nahariya, Israel Radio reported.
The IAF revealed on Tuesday that it had prevented a potentially serious disaster on the previous day when it stopped fire from an IDF unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at IDF troops.
A senior Air Force officer said that the UAV opened fire on ground troops operating in the south-central Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil after receiving incorrect coordinates from Golani soldiers on the ground. The fire was stopped when the IAF realized the mistake. No one was hurt in the incident.
Meanwhile, at least two Hizbullah operatives were killed and several were wounded when two IDF infantry brigades, along with armored and engineering corps units, entered the outskirts of Hizbullah's regional capital of Bint Jbeil, in the framework of continuing operations in southern Lebanon, the army said. IDF troops were not hurt in the battle.
A senior IDF officer said that the operation was to be extended to neighboring towns.
On Monday, IDF ground troops pushed deeper into Lebanon, entering the town amid heavy fighting that left two soldiers dead and at least 20 others wounded.
According to IDF commanders in the field, close to 40 Hizbullah gunmen were also killed in clashes that erupted as troops from the Golani and Paratroopers brigades took up positions in homes and surrounded the town's marketplace.
In Bint Jbeil, St.-Sgt. Kobi Smilg, 20, of Rehovot, was killed when a large bomb exploded under his Merkava 4 tank, which flipped over as a result. A battalion commander was wounded in the attack. A few hours later, 21-year-old Lt. Lotan Slavin from Kibbutz Hazeva was killed when his tank was hit - this time by an anti-tank missile.
Five Golani soldiers were wounded when they were struck by friendly fire from an aircraft hovering over the town.
On Monday night, Defense Minister Amir Peretz expanded the areas of the North that fell under the terms of an emergency situation order that he issued last week, allowing the IDF to close workplaces and give orders to the public.
Near the border, gunfire and explosions could be heard coming from southern Lebanon through the day, and large plumes of gray smoke rose over the area. Hizbullah gunmen fired mortars into northern Israel and anti-tank missiles at IDF forces, the army said.
Senior IDF officers told The Jerusalem Post that 100 to 200 Hizbullah fighters were believed to be in Bint Jbeil, home to 20,000 Shi'ites who, the military said, had mostly fled north. One IDF commander whose men were fighting in the town said Hizbullah appeared to be determined to hold on to the town.
The IDF, the commander said, was not surprised by the fierce Hizbullah resistance. The organization's fighting tactics, he said, were familiar from years of combat during Israel's 18-year presence in southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000. "We know this enemy very well," an officer said from his command post just south of the town.
OC Operations Directorate Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said soldiers fighting in the town had discovered Iranian involvement in the fighting. He said that the operation was proving to be effective and that the troops were succeeding in destroying rocket launchers and in drawing terrorists out of their hiding places and killing them.
The IDF, Eizenkot said, did not plan to reoccupy Lebanon. "We are going inside, taking over the area, conquering it for a defined period and then, after completing the operation, we move on to conquer another place," he said, adding that Syrian weapons were being used by Hizbullah in Bint Jbeil.
"The fighting is not easy but we are operating with our full determination," he said.
Touring an army induction base in the center of Israel, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz said there was still concern Hizbullah rockets could strike deep into Israel, hitting Tel Aviv. The IDF said that during the past 24 hours its planes had hit more than 270 targets across Lebanon, including 21 missile launchers, more than 50 Hizbullah buildings, and communication lines.
The army said it had captured two Hizbullah gunmen, the first it had taken into custody during the fighting. "When the enemy surrenders, we take them prisoner. The two prisoners are located in Israel and will be held here with the aim of interrogating them," said Brig.-Gen. Alon Friedman, deputy commander of the Northern Command.
(Go Israel, Go! Slap 'Em Down Hezbullies.)
Great news. Those must be some incredibly brave paratroopers.
"Any leftist cheerleaders want to comment on this practice?"
Comment on it? The leftists won't even report it. Those scumbag leftists believe that if they don't report it, it didn't happen. All the headlines of A/P and Reuters articles so far are disgustingly pro-Hezbolluh. This is an amazing sign of the twisted times we live in.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel.
also Keywords 2006israelwar or WOT [War on Terror]
----------------------------
They ought to consider leveling this town, since it was their headquarters, as a warning to any other town thats willing to play host.
When proof of these things come out, the dems go into typical silence mode.
Al-Reuters and AP-Jizzera will label it genocide.
The people of southern Lebanon were warned to evacuate. Anyone remaining now should be considered Hezbollah combatants and killed pronto.
Noam Chomsky is very sad. The MIT flag is at half mast.
Keep it coming Israel. Pay no attention to other nations.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.