KUALA LUMPUR, NOV 8 – Malaysia today stated that six peacekeepers serving under the United Nations (UN) were injured in an explosion in Lebanon.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement shortly after midnight that the explosion occurred yesterday near the Saida Stadium, but did not provide further details on the cause of the explosion.
The UN said five Malaysian peacekeepers were among those injured in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon yesterday, in an attack that also killed three civilians.
Israel launched the attack after Lebanon’s Hezbollah group claimed to have launched a missile attack targeting a military base near Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Defense stated that the blast had “targeted another civilian vehicle heading to Beirut but also caused damage to a bus carrying Malaysian UN peacekeepers,” injuring six of them.
The ministry described the injuries as ‘minor’, including a security guard who suffered a broken left arm and was taken to hospital.
The Malaysian Armed Forces “will continue to monitor this situation closely and will provide updates on this incident when available,” according to the statement.
The armed forces “remain committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of members when carrying out peacekeeping missions under the UN flag,” he added.
Hezbollah and Israel have been at war since late September, when Israel expanded its focus from fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip to efforts to secure its northern border. – AFP
