Israeli troops seize militants in hospital raid

JERUSALEM - Israeli commandos dropped from helicopters seized five suspected Hizbollah militants in a night-time raid deep into Lebanon.

The raid, at a Hizbollah-run hospital in the city of Baalbek, about 100km northeast of Beirut, was the deepest Israeli operation into Lebanon since 1994, Israeli media reported.

At least 19 civilians were killed in air strikes in the area that accompanied the raid, Lebanese authorities said.

Fierce fighting with assault rifles, grenade-launchers and machine guns raged around the hospital for four hours, witnesses said.

Israeli helicopters rained rockets and heavy machine gun fire at targets near the hospital and other spots in the city. After the commandos withdrew, warplanes destroyed the three-storey hospital, which had been evacuated of wounded Hizbollah and civilian patients before the raid.

The Israeli Army would not give details on how many commandos were involved in the operation or how long it took. But an Army spokeswoman said the captured militants were brought back to Israel.

"During the night, [Israeli] forces operated in the town of Baalbek. In the activity, they identified a number of terrorists.

"A number of terrorists were also arrested and taken to Israel," she said.

One security source said senior Hizbollah official Mohammad Yazbik might have been the target of the raid.

Lebanese security sources said at least three low-ranking members of Hizbollah were among those seized. But Hizbollah denied they belonged to the group.

The Israeli spokeswoman said all the Israeli troops who took part in the operation returned home safely.

- REUTERS