BEIRUT: Militant group Hezbollah said on Monday that it set off a bomb targeting Israeli forces at the Lebanese border in an apparent response to the killing in Syria last month of a prominent commander, triggering Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon.

Israel’s army said the blast targeted military vehicles in the Shebaa farms area, and that Israeli forces responded with artillery fire. It made no mention of casualties.

Lebanese media said Israeli shelling had hit the nearby town of Al Wazzani and other areas, with initial reports of injuries and damage to homes.

Hezbollah’s statement named the group that had carried out the attack after Samir Qantar. The group had accused Israel of killing Qantar in an air strike in Syria, and vowed to retaliate.

The “Samir Qantar group detonated a large explosive device on an Israeli patrol in the Shebaa farms... which destroyed an Israeli vehicle... and injured those inside it,” it said.

Witnesses said at least 10 Israeli shells had hit Al Wazzani shortly after the blast, causing material damage.

Lebanese New TV said in a newsflash there had been reports of injuries from the shelling.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2016