Middle East News
Lebanese judge issues arrest warrant for Hezbollah militant
Sep 9, 2008, 18:44 GMT
Beirut - A judge in Lebanon issued Tuesday an arrest warrant for a Hezbollah militant on charges of shooting at a Lebanese army helicopter and killing an army officer.
The helicopter was hit by Hezbollah gunfire on August 28 in the Iqlim al-Touffah district of southern Lebanon after the militant group mistook it for an Israeli helicopter. The pilot, Captain Samer Hanna, was killed.
Examining Magistrate Rashid Mizher issued the arrest warrant for militant Mustafa Moqaddem.
The area is controlled by the powerful political and military group Hezbollah, which fought a 33-day war with Israel in 2006.
The Lebanese army deployed in the southern border region, along with a reinforced UN peacekeeping force, after the 2006 war. The incident occurred north of a region where UN peacekeepers have a mandate to operate.
Hezbollah's weapons are already a controversial issue in Lebanon and were at the heart of an 18-month political crisis that pushed the country to the brink of a new civil war.
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