Hezbollah downs Lebanese chopper, thinking it Israeli

Hezbollah downed a Lebanese Army helicopter on Thursday in what Israeli officials believe was a case of mistaken identity: The Shi'ite militiamen apparently thought they were firing at an Israeli chopper.

The incident occurred as the helicopter flew over an area of southern Lebanon known to be a Hezbollah stronghold. The attack killed a navigator and forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing, Lebanese officials said.

Details about the incident were sketchy, as the military quickly sealed off the area. But a Lebanese Army statement said the helicopter was on a training mission when it came under fire from armed elements and was forced down in the highlands of the Iqlim al-Tuffah province. The helicopter was apparently flying at low altitude.

The statement said 1st Lt. Samer Hanna, a navigator, was killed and that the aircraft was damaged. No one else in the crew was hurt and the army was investigating, it added.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1016315.html

Suspicions flare as Hizbullah hands over assailant in fatal helicopter shooting

Hizbullah handed over to military police Friday the suspect who fired at a military helicopter a day earlier, as the Lebanese army held a funeral for the officer who was slain in the shooting.

"Hizbullah has handed over the person who fired at the helicopter to the Military Investigative Magistrate in the case Jean Fahd," a judicial source told The Daily Star, adding that Fahd gave orders to the military police to interrogate him "and everyone related to the incident."

The source said that Hizbullah was "fully cooperating" with the judiciary.

First Lieutenant Samer Hanna, 25, was killed when his helicopter was hit by gunfire on Thursday during a training mission in the Sejod Hills, a region known as a Hizbullah stronghold in Southern Lebanon.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=95569