Israeli soldier killed at border with Lebanon

From Nick Paton Walsh and Michael Schwartz, CNN

December 15, 2013 -- Updated 2341 GMT (0741 HKT)

(CNN) -- An Israeli soldier was killed Sunday in a shooting incident along the Israel-Lebanon border, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The soldier was treated at the scene, then evacuated to a hospital. He later died of his wounds.

Earlier Sunday, a spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, had said that a "serious shooting incident" was taking place along the Israel-Lebanon border.

It was not immediately clear who was shooting at whom, Andrea Treneti said then. Commanders from both sides were talking to the head of the UNIFIL mission to establish what happened.

"We are urging restraint," the spokesman said.

The soldier was shot while driving along the border near Rosh Hanikra, according to the IDF.

An initial inquiry confirmed the sniper is a member of the Lebanese Armed Forces, it said, adding further investigation is underway.

According to the Lebanese National News Agency, army troops opened fire on Israeli soldiers near the border.

UNIFIL has been in southern Lebanon since a 1978 conflict with Israel.

After the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, the peacekeepers' mandate was expanded to include helping Lebanon keep the country's south "free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons" other than government troops.

Cross-border fire has been rare since the Israel-Hezbollah war.

In late August, the Israeli air force conducted a strike in Lebanon between Beirut and Sidon, a day after rockets struck northern Israel, according to the IDF. There were no casualties.

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CNN's Kareem Khadder contributed to this report.