Laila Bassam, Tom Perry and Alexander Cornwell
Hezbollah is preparing for a long war of attrition in south Lebanon, after Israel wiped out its top leadership, with a new military command directing rocket fire and the ground conflict, two sources familiar with its operations said.
Hezbollah has been diminished by three weeks of devastating Israeli blows - most notably the killing of its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Friends and foes alike are now watching how effectively it resists Israeli troops that have crossed into Lebanon with the stated aim of driving it away from the border.
The Iran-backed group still has a considerable stockpile of weapons, including its most powerful precision missiles which it has yet to use, four sources familiar with its operations said, despite waves of airstrikes that Israel says has severely depleted its arsenal.
Hezbollah's command was disrupted for the first few days after Nasrallah's Sept. 27 assassination until Shi'ite militants established a new "operations room" 72 hours later, the two sources - a Hezbollah field commander and a source close to the group - told Reuters.
Nasrallah was killed, along with other Hezbollah leaders and an Iranian commander, when Israel located and bombed his deep bunker below Beirut.
No comments:
Post a Comment