Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it shot down an Israeli unmanned aircraft outside the southern town of Ramyah, the movement’s Al-Manar TV said early on Monday.
The drone is now in the hands of Hezbollah’s fighters, the Iran-backed group added in a statement.
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire at the border in recent weeks.
Last week, Israel had accused Hezbollah of building a precision-missile factory in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
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Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire at Lebanon border |
Tensions flared after Hezbollah said the Israelis were behind a drone attack on one of its compounds.
At the time, Hezbollah said a drone had landed on the roof of a building housing its media office in south Beirut, while another drone exploded midair.
That attack was condemned by Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri as an open attack on his country’s sovereignty.
In response, Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles into Israel, destroying a military vehicle.
Israel then returned more fire, sending approximately 100 artillery shells into Lebanon.
Israel’s army has claimed that Iran was collaborating with Hezbollah to convert “stupid rockets into precision-guided missiles”, through a plan to smuggle the required components into Lebanon.
In late August, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah accused Israel of using the group’s capability with precision-guided missiles as a pretext for attacks.
Israel has recently expressed concerns that Hezbollah and Iran are pursuing a missile-production industry in Lebanon. On Saturday, Nasrallah said the group did not “have factories to produce precision-guided missiles in Lebanon.”
Hezbollah and Israel fought a month-long war in 2006. The volatile border between the two countries, which remain technically in a state of war, has been mostly calm since.
SOURCE:
News agencies
