Peacekeepers hurt in Lebanon blast

BEIRUT – A bomb blew up a UN jeep near the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon yesterday, wounding six Italian UN peacekeepers…

BEIRUT – A bomb blew up a UN jeep near the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon yesterday, wounding six Italian UN peacekeepers, the Italian military chief of staff said, in the first attack of its kind in three years.

Lebanese security sources earlier said one peacekeeper had died in the attack on a busy highway leading to the port city. The blast left a huge grey plume of smoke.

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (Unifil) said the bomb had been aimed at a logistics convoy and confirmed six peacekeepers had been wounded. “Five are moderately wounded, and one is seriously wounded. They are in a hospital in Sidon,” a Unifil spokesman said. – (Reuters)