Lebanese suspected of collaborating with Israel targeted by bomb attacks

The cars of two Lebanese suspected of collaborating with Israel were blown up in the formerly occupied southern Lebanon village of Houla, Lebanese police said Saturday.

Two unknown bombers blew up overnight a car belonging to Ali Yaakub, a Houla resident who used to work in Israel. Yaakub house was damaged, but no one was injured by the blast.

Simultaneously, a similar attack targeted the car of Ali Hammud, suspected of having had contacts with Israel during its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon, police added.

The vehicle was destroyed but no injuries were reported.

On March 26, a booby-trapped car exploded in the southern Lebanese village, and a leaflet left at the scene threatened "all collaborators and traitors" with reprisal, urging them to "leave immediately".

A similar attack took place on April 9.

When the Israeli army pulled out of southern Lebanon last May, 6,000 Lebanese collaborators left the country, in fear of retaliation by the local population.

Several hundreds of them have now returned to Lebanon and some of them have been tried by a military court in Beirut for collaborating with the Israeli enemy.

AFP, 21-4-2001