Three French UNIFIL Troops Wounded in Sidon Blast

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Three French UNIFIL Troops Wounded in Sidon Blast

Three French soldiers serving with the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were wounded on Tuesday in a roadside bomb that targeted a UNIFIL patrol in the southern city of Sidon.

According to a security official, who wished not to be identified, the blast took place as the UNIFIL vehicle was travelling along the coastal road, near the southern entrance of the city.

Two of the wounded soldiers were taken to hospital, one of them in serious condition with burns to the face and shrapnel in one eye, an official at Hammoud Hospital in Sidon told AFP. The second soldier was slightly wounded in his left eye, he added, asking not to be named. The third soldier was released and sent back to his base.

An army spokesman said, meanwhile, that the bomb was placed on the side of the road and was triggered as the peacekeepers' vehicle - a troop carrier - drove by.

Press reports said that the troop carrier was fourth in a convoy of UN vehicles travelling in the area. The front of the vehicle was badly damaged and several parts were blown 20 to 30 meters (yards) by the force of the blast.

Members of the French contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) rushed to the site along with Lebanese troops, who cordoned off the area and began gathering evidence.

MIQATI DENOUNCES ATTACK AS IMMORAL

In the first political reaction, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati denounced the attack as immoral and said he had asked for a quick probe to determine who carried it out. He also contacted the French ambassador to express support, his office said.

Tuesday’s attack against the UNIFIL forces was not the first of its kind. In May, six Italian peacekeepers were wounded in Sidon in a similar roadside bombing. Nobody claimed responsibility for that attack, which targeted a UNIFIL jeep on the main highway linking the capital to south Lebanon, where the 12,000-strong force is deployed.

The force has been the target of three other unclaimed attacks. In the worst one, three Spanish and three Colombian peacekeepers were killed in June 2007 when a booby-trapped car exploded as their patrol vehicle drove by.