Two IDF soldiers were killed early Sunday in a Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon, the IDF announced Sunday.

One of the slain troops was identified as Sgt. First Class Maher Khatar, 38, a heavy machinery operator serving in the combat engineering unit of the IDF’s 91st “Galilee” Regional Division. Khatar was from the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights.

The name of the second soldier has not yet been cleared for publication.

According to a preliminary IDF investigation, the deadly incident occurred near an Israeli army position in southern Lebanon, just across the border from the Israeli community of Manara.
The military said the sequence began when a Puma armored personnel carrier (APC) became stuck during operations in the area. In response, the IDF dispatched a recovery force that included another Puma APC and two D9 armored bulldozers to extract the disabled vehicle.

During the recovery attempt, one of the D9 bulldozers was struck by a projectile, believed to have been either an anti-tank missile or a mortar round, according to the initial probe. The impact sparked a fire inside the vehicle. The blaze killed the two soldiers operating the bulldozer. An officer who was nearby sustained light injuries, the IDF said.

The IDF said it would release additional details, including the identity of the second fallen soldier, once the family has been notified.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)