Boy, four, killed in cross-border blast

A Lebanese boy was killed early today in an explosion near the border with Israel, hours after an Israeli soldier was killed in a cross-border shooting.

The killing of the soldier prompted Israeli officials to warn Lebanon and Syria to rein in anti-Israeli militants or face an escalation of force in the area.

The violence signified heightened tensions between Israel and Syria, Lebanon’s close ally, following Israel’s air raid on Sunday on what the Jewish state said was a Palestinian militant base deep inside Syria.

In today’s violence, Lebanese security officials and residents of the southern Lebanese border village of Houla said Ali Yassin, four, was killed and his twin brother wounded in the explosion.

It was not known whether the explosion was a falling anti-aircraft shell fired from Lebanon or a missile aimed at Israel that fell short, the Lebanese officials said.

Israel’s army said at least three mortar shells were fire early today from Lebanon towards north-eastern Israel. Israel Radio reported the Lebanese boy was killed when one of the shells landed short. No injuries were reported on the Israeli side.

Yassin’s twin brother Ahmed was also wounded in the impact, one of three heard by Houla residents.

Within minutes of the explosion, Israeli military fighter jets and helicopter gunships flew reconnaissance missions over the border area near Houla, villagers said.

In yesterday’s incident, shots were fired by a sniper of the anti-Israeli militia, Hezbollah, towards Israeli soldiers on a routine patrol near the border with Lebanon not far from the Israeli town of Metulla, the Israeli army said. Soldiers returned fire but did not identify that any people or structures were hit, the army said.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, said in a one-sentence statement faxed to The Associated Press in Beirut that it was not involved in the shootings. Lebanese security officials said two cars and a house in the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila were hit by the Israeli fire but no-one was injured.