Bomb Hits U.N. Peacekeepers in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon AP) - A roadside bomb planted in Lebanon's coastal south exploded Monday near a U.N. post as a peacekeeping vehicle drove past, the second attack targeting the force in less than a month. No one was hurt.

The bomb struck the U.N. jeep as it drove through a village near the southern port city of Tyre, according to a statement from the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon, known as UNIFIL.

A U.N. official at the site of the explosion said the bomb was planted near a bridge on the road to Qassimiyeh. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation television showed Lebanese troops directing traffic and searching the blast scene for evidence.

"We can confirm that a small explosion occurred in the area of the Qassmiyeh bridge, involving one UNIFIL military police vehicle," Yasmina Bouziane, a spokeswoan for the U.N. force, said in a statement. "No casualties have been reported. Only damage to the vehicle."

The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah guerrilla group condemned the attack, saying in a statement that it "aims at destabilizing Lebanon, particularly its south" and urging authorities to uncover the perpetrators.

Security officials in southern Lebanon said two Tanzanian peacekeepers parked their jeep on the coastal road near the Qassimiyeh bridge to monitor the speed of U.N. vehicles in southern Lebanon.

Minutes after the two soldiers stepped out of the jeep, the bomb exploded, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Monitoring the speed of U.N. vehicles began after four members of a Lebanese family, including two children, were killed in southern Lebanon on July 3 when a U.N. water truck lost control and rammed into their car. The incident enraged locals who demanded U.N. troops stop driving at high speeds.

In the first attack targeting UNIFIL, six peacekeepers belonging to the Spanish contingent were killed June 24 when a bomb struck their armored personnel carrier in southern Lebanon.

No group has claimed responsibility for the June blast. But in a videotape last week, al-Qaida's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri blessed the attack, fueling speculation that it was carried out by al-Qaida-linked militants.

UNIFIL Commander Gen. Claudio Graziano has said he does not know who was behind the car bombing on the Spanish troops, but he was sure the attackers aimed to undermine peace in Lebanon and the region.

Since the arrival of the reinforced UNIFIL force last summer, Graziano said the force received many threats, "and we took all the threats very seriously, even if they were not direct."

There have been warnings that the peacekeepers could come under terror attacks, particularly from al-Qaida and its sympathizers. Media reports last month said interrogations by Lebanese authorities with captured militants revealed plots to attack the force.

UNIFIL, made up of 13,000 members from 30 countries, is tasked with implementing a U.N. Security Council resolution that ended last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.
MyWay

Now why would anyone attack UN blue helmets?

There're not imperial storm troopers on a mission to pillage and plunder the land, great wealth, or women of the area, (now the boys, they might want to be careful).

Nor are they Crusaders out to insult the profit, and convert the masses? What possible reason would anyone have to attack blue helmets?