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Israel's "Front Line with Iran"

[Telegraph-UK] Con Coughlin - High in the mountains that delineate Israel's northern border with Lebanon, Israeli troops have spent the past year engaged in a deadly game of cat and mouse with Iranian-backed fighters from Hizballah. On a visit to the area earlier this year, it was clear that at key sectors along the 60-mile border the Israeli defensive positions were less than 50 yards from their Hizballah foes. The Israeli soldiers serving on the front line were under no illusions about Hizballah's deadly intent. "There's nothing they'd like more than to kidnap an Israeli soldier," said the senior Israeli army officer with me. "It's just the kind of publicity stunt they crave. Every time we go out on patrol we know we might run into a Hizballah ambush." Hizballah has built a network of sophisticated control towers and monitoring stations along the length of the border with Israel, paid for by Iran. Israeli officers have reported frequent sightings of Iranian military officials inspecting the new facilities and advising local Hizballah commanders. Hizballah was originally established in the 1980s by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Israeli commanders regard the northern border as their "front line" with Iran.
2006-07-14 01:00:00
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