Spanish defence chief visits Lebanon

The Spanish Defence Minister Jose Antonio Alonso has arrived in southern Lebanon a day after six UN peacekeepers were killed …

The Spanish Defence Minister Jose Antonio Alonso has arrived in southern Lebanon a day after six UN peacekeepers were killed in a roadside bomb attack.

The peacekeepers were patrolling a main road north of the Israeli border town of Metulla, when the bomb struck their armored personnel carrier.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for yesterday's bombing that killed three Colombian peacekeepers and two Spaniards.

The Lebanese government has said the bomb attack was "a challenge to the international community," and has appealed for outside help to prevent the country and the region from spiraling out of control.

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Hezbollah, Syria's main ally in Lebanon, also condemned the attack, saying the attack was aimed at undermining the stability of southern Lebanon.

Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi told reporters after the meeting that Lebanon needed international support: "The collapse of this situation in Lebanon will lead to a collapse of the situation in all states in the region."

UNIFIL's presence puts teeth in UN cease-fire resolution 1701 that halted last summer's 34-day war. Southern Lebanon has been largely quiet after the summer war killed more than 1,200 people, most of them in Lebanon.

Media reports earlier this month said interrogations by Lebanese authorities with captured al-Qaeda-inspired militants revealed plots to attack the UN force.