2 reservists killed in Lebanon battle

Cleared for publication: Two reserve soldiers killed near Bint Jbeil in fire exchanges with Hizbullah Monday night. IDF force engages in fierce battle with gunmen near village of Aytaroun, soldier seriously injured
Hanan Greenberg

It has been cleared for publication that two IDF reservists were killed and another two were lightly and moderately injured in exchanges of fire with Hizbullah early Tuesday morning. The battle took place near the village of Labouna in the Bint Jbeil area in southwest Lebanon.

Deadly Battle
Soldier killed in south Lebanon / Hanan Greenberg
Hizbullah gunmen fire antitank missile at armored vehicle operating in Dibel village near Bint Jbeil; Staff Sergeant Philip Mosko, 21, from Maale Adumim - who served as paramedic in Paratrooper Brigade – killed, five troops lightly injured
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One of the reservists killed is Gilad Balachsan, 28, from Carmiel. The soldiers that were injured in the clash have been evacuated to a hospital in Israel for treatment.

The two killed troops served in the Baram Brigade (the western brigade) as part of its reserve force, which has been assigned border patrol duties. On Monday night the force entered into Lebanese territory and encountered a terror cell near the village of Labouna.

More then 25 terrorists have been killed in the western sector throughout Monday night and Tuesday morning, in a series of incidents.

An IDF soldier was seriously wounded early Tuesday morning in fire exchanges with Hizbullah near the village of Aytaroun in the western sector. At the same time, exchanges of fire were also carried out in the village of Labouna; several troops sustained injuries.

The soldier that was seriously injured has been evacuated to a hospital in Israel, and the army is looking into the possibility he was hurt by friendly fire.

Staff Sergeant Philip Mosko, 21, from Maale Adumim, who served as a paramedic in the Paratrooper Brigade, was killed during fierce fire exchanges between IDF soldiers and Hizbullah in the village of Dibel near Bint Jbeil Monday night. Five troops were injured in the incident.

The injured troops were evacuated to Israel by IDF forces and the families of the soldiers that have been hurt were notified.

Hizbullah gunmen used an improved antitank missile, which was fired at a Puma-type armored vehicle that was carrying a number of auxiliary forces troops, including paramedics.

"Hizbullah has a variety of improved missiles and when such a missile is fired at an armored vehicle, damage cannot be completely prevented. Usually the vehicle sustains slight damages and the troops remain unharmed. In some cases the outcome is more severe, and this is something we will need to address," a military official told Ynet.

I am almost afraid to post this but it seems that despite heavy fighting our losses are down dramatically. The IDF I think has the fast learning curve of any military in the world. Israel may have turned the corner on the tactics of Hizbullah and have come up with the means to defeat Hizbullah with lower IDF casualties.