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Media says Hezbollah hit Lebanese army helicopter by mistake |
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Written by Bassem Mroue, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Friday, 29 August 2008 |
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BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah on Friday handed over a man suspected of firing on a Lebanese army helicopter a day earlier that killed a navigator, the militant group said.
Hezbollah described Thursday's shooting as "very unfortunate and painful," but some media reports claimed the Shiite militant group had mistakenly opened fire on the helicopter.
The shooting has raised political tensions in the country. If Hezbollah guerrillas were behind it, this could be used by the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority to increase their calls for Hezbollah to disarm.
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora called the incident a "challenge to the state's authority," according to Information Minister Tarek Mitri who quoted him after a Cabinet meeting Friday.
Strong Hezbollah critic and former legislator Fares Soeid sarcastically asked whether the "Lebanese army needs permission to fly over Lebanese territories" and wondered on Thursday whether there is a "border between the state of Lebanon and the state of Hezbollah."
Hezbollah deputy leader Sheik Naim Kassem confirmed the handover, but declined to say whether it had fired by mistake. He told Hezbollah's Al-Manar Television that the group will "abide by whatever the army and judicial investigation says" in the matter.
Military court magistrate Jean Fahd said Hezbollah turned the man over as the person who opened fire at the helicopter in Hezbollah's stronghold of Iqlim al-Tuffah, where the group is believed to have bases and concealed positions. The chopper made an emergency landing.
The As-Safir daily quoted unidentified "multiple sources" as saying that the gunmen mistook the helicopter for an Israeli aircraft dropping off soldiers in southern Lebanon. The paper often receives leaked information from the Shiite militant group.
Hezbollah's deputy chief downplayed the incident, saying it was marked by "confusion" and had no political or security implications.
"We are not two camps. We are in the same camp confronting Israel," Kassem said of the Lebanese army and Hezbollah guerrillas.
As-Safir said the shooting resulted from a "lack of co-ordination" on the helicopter flight. The army and Hezbollah often inform each other of their movements.
Hezbollah was the only militia allowed to keep its weapons after the end of the 1975-90 civil war, on the grounds it was fighting Israeli troops occupying part of Lebanon until 2000.
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