IDF detonates two Hizbullah bunkers

Battalion commander believes there are "dozens more" similar bunkers in area.

flag hizbullah border298 (photo credit: AP [file])
flag hizbullah border298
(photo credit: AP [file])
An elite IDF unit operating along the Blue Line, the international border between Israel and Lebanon on Friday uncovered two underground Hizbullah bunkers just north of the Biranit outpost. The bunkers were inside Israeli territory although they were on the other side of the electronic border fence. Lt.-Col. Eren Pukar, commander of Engineering Battalion 603, said he believed there were possibly dozens more Hizbullah bunkers along the Israeli-Lebanese border. Pukar said his battalion used 300 kilograms of explosives to destroy the bunkers, which were five-by-seven meters each and contained stockpiles of food and clothing. Pukar said that the IDF believed that the bunkers were part of larger fortification system built by Hizbullah along the border to use as a launching pad for attacks against Israel. "The bunkers were most probably part of a larger system that we have yet to completely discover," said Pukar. "They were in the middle of construction and were used to observe IDF deployment along the border." Prior to detonating the bunkers, the IDF warned both United Nations forces stationed in southern Lebanon and residents in nearby Israeli communities.