Gabi Ashkenazi instructs IDF to be prepared

Following Mughniyeh's death, IDF chief says army following developments, taking precautions.

By YAAKOV KATZ, JPOST.COM STAFF
Ashkenazi 248.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Ashkenazi 248.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Two days after the assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Iman Mughniyeh, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen Gabi Ashkenazi on Thursday issued a statement ordering the Navy, IAF and ground forces to be prepared along the northern border as well as to protect other Israeli interests. "The IDF is following developments and taking the necessary precautions," read the statement. On Wednesday, despite the fact that it denied any involvement in Mughniyeh's killing, Israel raised the level of alert at its embassies abroad and along the northern border. Defense officials said it was possible Hizbullah would attack Israeli targets in retaliation for the assassination, although it was unlikely that the group would do so across Israel's northern border. Instead it might use its extensive infrastructure overseas, they said. One former senior intelligence officer told The Jerusalem Post Hizbullah had terrorist infrastructure in more than 50 countries, particularly in Africa and South America.