Israelis 'find bombs on border'

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The Israeli military says it has found four explosive devices near the border with Lebanon which it suspects were planted by Hezbollah militants.

Army patrols were thought to be the intended targets of the devices.

Hezbollah and UN officials said they were looking into the report, AP news agency reported.

Observers say if confirmed, the find signals a breach of the ceasefire by Hezbollah and failure by peacekeepers to prevent new attacks on Israel.

Defused and destroyed

The devices were reportedly found by troops on Monday between the Israeli community of Avivim and the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras.

"A unit patrol of sappers discovered them. Army vehicles driving on the patrol route alongside the security fence could have been hit if the explosives, placed 50 metres from the fence, had exploded," Lieutenant Colonel Guy Hazoot told news agency AFP.

He said the devices hidden in containers that looked like boulders were defused and destroyed.

They were the first found by the Israeli military in the area since the 34-day conflict with Hezbollah last year, he said.