Lebanon in high alert at border with Israel

(Xinhua) -- Following the assassination of a high ranking Hezbollah official Wednesday in Beirut and accusing Israel of being behind the crime, a high tense situation was witnessed on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border.A Lebanese security source told Xinhua that a high alert was witnessed on both sides of the border in a preemptive move for any possible security deterioration.The source said that the Israeli army has put its units deployed on the border with Lebanon in a high alert state and patrolled all the border region using armored vehicles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's).It added that the patrols were accompanied by intense flightovers of the Israeli air force and border units were seen monitoring the Lebanese side with advanced eavesdropping equipment.As for the Lebanese army, its units were placed in a high state of readiness and enforced its checkpoints, so did the Hezbollah, according to the source.Hajj Hassan Hollo al-Laqqis, who is a prominent figure in the resistance, was assassinated near his residence in Sainte Therese neighborhood in Hadath around 12 a.m. overnight Tuesday while he was on the way back from work.Hezbollah in a statement accused Israel of carrying out the assassination, revealing that Laqqis "was subjected several times and in several areas to failed assassination attempts."The statement added "Israel is automatically held the complete responsibility for this heinous crime."Related:Syria military jets strike Lebanon border town: security sourceBEIRUT, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Syrian military jets on Thursday launched three air raids on the outskirts of Lebanon's Arsal border town in the east Bekaa, a local security source said.A Syrian military helicopter conducted two raids on the Wadi Ata region on the outskirts of Arsal, launching six rockets while a second Syrian jet targeted the same area with three rockets. Full story