Israel Strikes Back at Hezbollah Sites

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Hezbollah guerrillas attacked an Israeli military position at a disputed part of the south Lebanon border Friday, the group's Al-Manar television said. Israeli planes promptly retaliated, bombing suspected Hezbollah sites in south Lebanon.

Hezbollah said the bombardment of rockets and shells was in retaliation for the killing by Israel this week of a Lebanese who went missing in the border area on Wednesday.

Lebanon says the victim was 15-year-old shepherd Ibrahim Youssef Rhayyel, while Israel says the victim was an armed man with binoculars.

The Israeli army confirmed that had Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets at an Israeli military position in Chebaa Farms, and that there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Shortly afterward, Israeli planes bombed suspected Hezbollah targets along south Lebanese border, said a Lebanese security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The bullet-riddled body of the Lebanese was found Thursday in the Chebaa Farms area. Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, had warned that if the shepherd was found dead, the guerrillas would "punish the killers without hesitation."

Lebanon claims Chebaa Farms, a tiny parcel of land held by Israel, and Hezbollah has vowed to liberate the area, which is frequently the scene of fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli troops. U.N. cartographers say the land belongs to that part of
Syria which is occupied by Israel.