From the AP, Hailstorm Sets Off Bomblets:
BEIRUT – The season’s first hailstorm Tuesday was a blessing in disguise for cluster bomb-infested parts of southern Lebanon, triggering blasts from previously unexploded bomblets. No injuries were reported. After a long dry spell across Lebanon, hailstones as big as walnuts hit villages and struck undiscovered bomblets scattered across the landscape, the state-run National News Agency reported. Dalya Farran, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC), confirmed that many cluster bombs exploded when they were hit by hailstones in villages near the town of Marjayoun. More than 30 people have been killed by cluster bombs in southern Lebanon since last year’s war between Hezbollah and Israel.
That’s a wonderful story. Minus the AP’s obligatory blame Israel meme.
The United Nations and human rights groups accuse Israel of dropping about 4 million cluster bomblets during the war. Up to 1 million failed to explode and now endanger civilians in the area.
In lieu of divine intervention, one of the most aggressive efforts to clear southern Lebanon of unexploded ordinance has been conducted by the United States. HT: Danger Room
