Lebanon's Hizbollah fighters fired Wednesday at Israeli jet fighters, which were violating the country's airspace for the third consecutive day, AFP reported, citing Lebanese police.
The group opened fire with anti-aircraft guns at Israeli planes overflying southern Lebanon, the sources said.
The jets also broke the sound barrier over Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli, AFP correspondents on the scene said.
Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was expected to hold a meeting with visiting German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer to discuss swapping Israeli soldiers captured by the group in October for Lebanese, Arab and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. There has been no confirmation that the meeting took place.
On Tuesday night, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon demanded that various Islamic anti-Israeli groups, including Hizbollah, be branded terrorist organizations.
"We demand from the free world to declare Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbollah as terrorist organizations and we demand from the free world to take steps against them," said Sharon.
Over the past two months Hizbollah, which controls part of south Lebanon, has repeatedly attempted without success to hit Israeli planes violating the country's airspace.
Israeli flights over Lebanon occur almost daily despite repeated UN rulings that they constitute a violation of the "Blue Line," drawn by the United Nations to mark the border between Lebanon and the Jewish state after Israel ended its occupation of southern Lebanon in May last year – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
