Paging Hezbollah
Hezbollah is hit by a wave of exploding pagers that killed at least 9 people and injured thousands
By BASSEM MROUE, ABBY SEWELL and KAREEM CHEHAYEB
BEIRUT (AP) — Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded near-simultaneously Tuesday in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding several thousand, officials said. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack.
An American official said Israel briefed the United States on Tuesday after the conclusion of the operation, in which small amounts of explosive secreted in the pagers were detonated. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the information publicly.
The Israeli military declined to comment.
Among those wounded was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon. The mysterious explosions came amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which have exchanged fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza.
The pagers that blew up were apparently acquired by Hezbollah after the group’s leader ordered members in February to stop using cellphones, warning they could be tracked by Israeli intelligence.
I thought the Brits were the masters of dirty tricks. The pagers came from a Taiwanese outfit subcontracted to a third party and were apparently intercepted along the way for Mossad’s modifications. This pretty much settles any custody chain questions that may arise. Thanks to Mick for the head’s up.
Category: Guest Link, Israel
