| Very long, but good backgrounder. RTWT, if you have the time... |
Two Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers were kidnapped and seven others were killed Wednesday in attacks on Israel's northern border by Hezbollah. Hezbollah's Al Manar TV station reported that the abduction occurred just after 9 a.m. and the soldiers were transferred to a safe location. Just two days before the Hezbollah attacks, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, while speaking about Israel on Iran News Network TV, “It will not be long before this intense fury will lead to a huge explosion.” Ahmadinejad has also said Israel should be “wiped off the map” and that the Holocaust was a myth.
The two soldiers were patrolling Israel's northern border Wednesday morning in armored jeeps when Hezbollah terrorists fired on the vehicles and detonated explosives nearby. Three other soldiers riding in the jeeps were killed in the attack. A senior Hezbollah official said that at least one of the kidnapped soldiers is still alive.