Italian FM: Risk exists of attack against UNIFIL

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said Wednesday that there is a risk of attack against UN troops in Lebanon and that forces there should remain alert, the ANSA news agency reported. "It is right to warn the (UN) contingent about the risks, because the risks are real," D'Alema said during a visit at the Italian command in Tibnin, Lebanon. He referred to comments by the head of the UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, Maj. Gen. Alain Pellegrini, that al-Qaida has infiltrated southern Lebanon, ANSA said. Israel TV reported earlier this month that Israel had warned the UN force in Lebanon that al-Qaida was planning an attack on international peacekeepers. The report said Israel had received intelligence that al-Qaida's deputy chief, Ayman al-Zawahri, had issued the order to attack the peacekeepers. It did not give details on the source of the information or when the attack might take place.