U.N. Peacekeepers Wounded in Southern Lebanon Attack
A bomb exploded near a United Nations convoy helping patrol southern Lebanon on Friday, wounding five peacekeepers in the third attack on the contingent this year, a United Nations spokesman and security officials said.
No one was killed, but the attack underlined a growing sense of unease as Lebanon braces for repercussions from the nine-month uprising in neighboring Syria. Lebanon is divided between factions opposed and allied to the Syrian government and many have worried that a proxy war of sorts could be fought here.
The attack occurred at 9:30 a.m., when the bomb exploded near a patrol on the southern outskirts of the port city of Tyre, the officials said. The United Nations declined to identify the nationality of the peacekeepers but officials here said they were French.
“It’s difficult to say anything more,” said Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the United Nations force. “It’s still early to speculate on reasons behind it.”