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Lebanese army dismantles rockets aimed at Israel | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese military experts on Monday dismantled two Katyusha rockets that were equipped with timers and ready to fire at Israel, a senior Lebanese security official said.

The official said the rockets found near the south Lebanon village of Halta were set up about four kilometers (2.5 miles) away from the Lebanon-Israel border. The weapons were rigged with timers and likely would have been launched had the army not intervened, he said. He did not say when the rockets were meant to be fired.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

The discovery coincides with a conflict in Gaza, with militants there pounding Israel with rockets and Israel blasting the territory with airstrikes.

In 2008, during the last Israeli offensive on Gaza, several rockets were fired from southern Lebanon at northern Israel, provoking a brief Israeli artillery response.

South Lebanon, the scene of bitter fighting between Israel and Lebanese militant Hezbollah guerrillas in 2006, is considered a Hezbollah stronghold.

There are also Palestinian radical groups and Islamic militants that could also provoke a border incident.