General: Hezbollah not regrouping

TEL AVIV, Israel, June 15 (UPI) -- The commander of a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said the guerrilla group Hezbollah hasn't regrouped in the southern part of Lebanon.

Maj. Gen. Claudio Graziano, an officer in the Italian army commanding the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, denied that Hezbollah is reaching its previous strength level and said the group is nearly nonexistent south of the Litani River, the Jerusalem Post reported Friday.

The general, speaking in Tel Aviv, Israel, said he expected Hezbollah to be erased as a threat to security in the region within three years.

Graziano's comments contradict statements made by Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, who said the militant group had returned to its strength level prior to last year's war.

Graziano said while visiting Tel Aviv to meet with Israeli military officers that members of UNIFIL are committed to their mission.

"Our job is to defend peace and it is a value-based job for soldiers," he said. "There are people who will offer their lives for higher values like peace, security and stability."