Counterterrorism Blog

Editor's Note: "Karim" is a special correspondent for the Counterterrorism Blog in Lebanon who posted on August 28, July 24, and September 6. He submitted pictures of Hezbollah tunnels found by Israeli soldiers upon entry into Lebanon. I don't know if these have already been published elsewhere on an English-language site (a quick search turned up none of these pictures). Here is an excerpt from an August 28 Reuters report on the tunnels:

Hizbollah's fortified underground structures proved a major stumbling block for the 34-day Israeli offensive that ended in a truce on Aug. 14. At least a dozen commandos died storming them, and guerrillas used them to shell northern Israel from cover. Footage of the site showed tunnels high enough to walk in, with ventilation and lighting systems, bathrooms, painted walls and reinforced ceilings. Hatches to the outside were screened by trees and shrubs. A mortar launcher was shown tucked, half concealed, in an open-air trench nearby. Lieutenant-Colonel Ghassan Alyan, the Israeli mission commander, said the underground network covered an area of 2 square km (0.8 square miles). "Dozens of command bunkers were built inside the network, divided into two or three rooms each," he told Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. "They enabled the terrorists to come out of the bunkers, fire mortars at Israel, and re-enter the bunkers without being discovered by anyone." Israeli television said the military believed there were about 10 more similar networks in southern Lebanon.

More pictures on continuation page