Two Lebanese soldiers shot as troops exchange fire on border with Israel

An Israeli armored military car patrols at the Israeli-Lebanon border (EPA)

Israeli troops shot two Lebanese soldiers after a Lebanese army sniper killed an Israeli soldier as he drove along the volatile border late on Sunday night.

There is no word on their condition and Lebanon has not yet commented. The shootings raised the possibility of renewed fighting in the area.

In the incident late on Sunday, Israeli soldier Shlomi Cohen, 31, was fatally shot by a Lebanese army sniper near the tourist site of Rosh Hanikra on the Mediterranean Sea, the Israeli military said.

Today, the Lebanese army said the original shooting was the result of "individual behavior by one of the soldiers."

It said a military committee was investigating the incident and was coordinating with the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon to deal with the fallout from the shooting. With the sniper in custody, there was no word on a motive for the shooting and no mention of the two soldiers allegedly shot by Israel. The Lebanese army stressed its full commitment to UN resolutions, including maintaining a ceasefire that ended the 2006 war.

AP