Hizbullah: Israeli Drone Detonated Spy Device on Our Srifa Telecom Network

Hizbullah announced on Friday that it had foiled an attempt by Israel to spy on its telecom network that is installed between two southern towns, prompting Israel to detonate the device through which it tried to infiltrate the group’s network.

“The Islamic Resistance thwarted an Israeli spying attempt on the telecom cable installed between the towns of Srifa and Deirkifa,” Hizbullah’s Al-Manar television reported, noting that “Israel detonated the spy device through an unmanned aerial vehicle.”

“None of the Islamic Resistance’s jihadist fighters was harmed in the explosion of the surveillance device,” Al-Manar said.

A Hizbullah official in southern Lebanon told Agence France Presse the armed group earlier on Friday had sent five of its members to monitor the area where the device had been planted, which could have alerted the Israelis that their equipment had been exposed.

Earlier on Friday, conflicting reports emerged over whether the blast was linked to Israel or Hizbullah.

The blast, which took place at 2:00 pm, was accompanied with an overflight by an Israeli surveillance plane, a security source told the Central News Agency.

It added that the explosion may therefore have been caused by the plane blowing up an unknown object.

It revealed that an Internal Security Forces patrol, accompanied by ambulances, was sent to the area for inspection.

Meanwhile, another source told the news agency that the explosion took place at a Hizbullah military zone.

It said that the party soon cordoned off the area.

Army intelligence, in collaboration with Hizbullah, had uncovered a number of Israeli espionage devices, including one in Sannine in 2010 and another in the southern town of Shamaa in March 2011.

Two weeks ago, an explosion was heard in the southern town of Siddiqin.

Some media reports speculated that it may have taken place at a Hizbullah arms depot.

The party denied the claims.

In 2009, a blast went off in a Hizbullah arms cache in the town of Khirbet Silm in the South.