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CNN Live Sunday

Israeli Warplanes Attack Syrian Radar Base

Aired July 01, 2001 - 17:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Israeli warplanes struck Syrian radar positions in Lebanon today, injuring at least three Syrian soldiers and one Lebanese soldier. That attack took place in Eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, a region where many Syrian troops are deployed. The Israelis say the strike was launched in retaliation for a mortar attack last week that injured two Israeli soldiers.

CNN's Brent Sadler has this update.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In destroying a Syrian radar base in Lebanon, Israel again delivered on an established threat to punish Damascus for allegedly backing Lebanese-based Hezbollah guerrilla attacks an Israelis troop occupying the Sheba Farms region at the foot of the Golan Heights.

At the targeted radar site in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, two Syrian soldiers were reportedly wound as well as a Lebanese Army conscript on duty nearby. Hezbollah wasted little time in tit-for-tat retaliation, firing salvos of rockets and mortars at Israeli forces in the Sheba area, triggering another round of Israeli shelling in response, reportedly wounding a Lebanese civilian.

Hezbollah's secretary-general, Saeed Hassan Nasrallah, condemned Israel for striking at Syrian interests in Lebanon, warning Israelis they are playing with fire; remarks which drew concern from the United Nations .

STAFFAN DE MISTURA, U.N. REPRESENTATIVE FOR S. LEBANON: Everybody is playing with fire at the moment. And fire does not help the region, does not help Lebanon. We have to put water a fire. There are many other formulas in order to solve the Sheba issue, and Sheba can be solved through diplomatic means.

SADLER: This renewed cycle of violence erupted in the wake of Hezbollah's attack Friday on Israeli troops in Sheba. Made up some 17 square miles of territory, Sheba is claimed by Lebanon, and fought over by Hezbollah. The guerrillas have killed three Israeli soldiers and abducted three others since Israeli forces withdrew from South Lebanon just over a year ago.

(on camera): Since then, Hezbollah has launched sporadic raids on Sheba, claiming Israel's troop pull-out last May was incomplete without the return of Sheba, thereby justifying further guerrilla attacks.

(voice-over): A claim United Nations firmly rejects, asserting that Sheba is Syrian territory, and is therefore a matter for the Israelis and the Syrians to resolve, not the Lebanese.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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