Ya Libnan is now reporting that 6 UN soldiers were killed in the blast.
The BBC is reporting that 3 of the dead are from Colombia and 2 are from Spain.
Spanish U.N. peacekeepers carry a colleague after an explosion targeted a U.N. patrol in Khiyam village in south Lebanon June 24, 2007. A roadside bomb detonated by remote control caused a blast that killed four Spanish U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon on Sunday, a Lebanese security source said. (REUTERS/Karamallah Daher)
UN forces were the target of a roadside bomb today in southern Lebanon. 5 Spanish soldiers were killed in the blast.
The Guardian reported:
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) – A bomb apparently targeting U.N. peacekeepers exploded by the side of a road in southern Lebanon on Sunday, killing five Spanish troops and injuring at least three, a senior Lebanese military official said.
The senior official in Beirut said a mine may have caused the explosion, but another security official based in southern Lebanon said a bomb detonated at the side of a road about four miles north of the Israeli border town of Metulla. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
In Madrid, the Spanish Defense Ministry confirmed at least four Spanish peacekeepers were killed and three injured. Medical teams with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, were working in the area, a ministry spokesman said.
White smoke billowed from the armored personnel carrier, which was thrown by the force of the explosion to the side of the road. Fire engines rushed to the area to put out the flames.
Ya Libnan says the bomb had been “recently planted and remotely controlled in the Marjeyoun-Khiyam area.
The BBC adds:
Sunday’s explosion took place took place between the towns of Khiyam and Marjeyoun, near the border with Israel in the area of operation of UN peacekeepers.
A convoy of armoured UN vehicles from a Spanish battalion was hit by the blast.
At least three peacekeepers were also injured in the blast.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast but Al Qaeda is suspected:
No organization claimed responsibility but forces affiliated with al-Qaeda, like Fatah al-Islam, who have been battling the Lebanese army since May 20 in northern Lebanon have threatened to hit UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon.
“During questioning, some members of Fatah al-Islam confessed that one of the main aims of their group was to carry out attacks on UNIFIL in southern Lebanon,” one security source said.
Update: Spanish Pundit has more on the blast HERE and HERE.
