Hezbollah prisoner swap goes ahead

Military jets carrying prisoners to be swapped in a long-awaited deal between arch enemies Israel and the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah touched down before dawn today under tight security at a military airport in Cologne.

In the German-brokered deal, Israel is freeing 436 prisoners in return for kidnapped businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers as part of a rare agreement between combatants who have fought in Lebanon and along the border with Israel for almost 20 years.