3 UN Military Observers, Lebanese Interpreter Wounded in Blast as Israel Denies Involvement

FILE - Spanish UN peacekeepers stand on a hill overlooking the Lebanese border villages with Israel in Marjayoun town on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - Spanish UN peacekeepers stand on a hill overlooking the Lebanese border villages with Israel in Marjayoun town on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
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3 UN Military Observers, Lebanese Interpreter Wounded in Blast as Israel Denies Involvement

FILE - Spanish UN peacekeepers stand on a hill overlooking the Lebanese border villages with Israel in Marjayoun town on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - Spanish UN peacekeepers stand on a hill overlooking the Lebanese border villages with Israel in Marjayoun town on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Three United Nations military observers and a Lebanese interpreter were wounded Saturday while patrolling the southern Lebanese border after a shell exploded near them, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said.
The military observers are part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, which supports the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL.
The UNIFIL statement said the targeting of peacekeepers is "unacceptable."
Local Lebanese media, citing security officials, said an Israeli drone strike targeted the observers in the southern village of Wadi Katmoun near the border town of Rmeish.
Two security sources had also told Reuters the observers were wounded in an Israeli strike but the Israeli military denied striking in the area.
"Contrary to the reports, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) did not strike a UNIFIL vehicle in the area of Rmeish this morning," the military said.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the incident in a statement.

The mayor of Rmeish, Milad Alam, told Reuters that he had spoken with the Lebanese translator and confirmed his condition was stable.
"From Rmeish, we heard a blast and then saw a UNIFIL car zipping by. The foreign observers were taken to hospitals in Tyre and Beirut by helicopter and car," Milad said, without providing details on their condition.
One of the observers was a Norwegian citizen, who was lightly injured, the Nordic country's defense ministry told Reuters. Lebanon's National News Agency said the other two wounded observers were Chilean and Australian.



UK Police Arrest Two Men over Alleged Hezbollah Links

A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. AP Photo/Emrah Gurel
A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. AP Photo/Emrah Gurel
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UK Police Arrest Two Men over Alleged Hezbollah Links

A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. AP Photo/Emrah Gurel
A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. AP Photo/Emrah Gurel

British counter-terrorism police said on Thursday they had arrested two men accused of being linked to the banned group Hezbollah, saying their investigation involved alleged activity both overseas and in Britain.

Detectives from London's Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) arrested a 39-year-old man in north London on suspicion of being a member of a proscribed group, preparing acts of terrorism and being involved in funding for the purposed of terrorism, Reuters said.

A second man, 35, was arrested in west London on suspicion of being a member of a banned organization.

"Our investigation remains ongoing, but I hope that these arrests show we will take robust action against anyone here whom we suspect as being involved in terrorist activity regardless of whether their activity is focused here in the UK or elsewhere," said commander Dominic Murphy, head of the CTC.

Police said the investigation related to the Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah which Britain outlawed in 2019 when it classified it as a terrorist group. There was no immediate threat to the public, they said.

The two men were released on police bail until mid-July.