Hezbollah can't stop militants -- Israel

JERUSALEM, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Hezbollah is unable to prevent other militant groups from launching attacks directed at Israel from southern Lebanon, Israeli military sources said.

At least two rockets were fired Sept. 11 from the general area of Qlaileh in south Lebanon, striking targets in northern Israel. There were no casualties reported in the exchange.

The U.N. peacekeeping force in the region said it was investigating the situation, adding there were no further reports of volleys following the initial escalation.

Sources in the national defense force told Israeli newspaper Haaretz the rocket attacks were from a Palestinian militant group loyal to al-Qaida operating out of the Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp near Sidon.

The Israeli military source said the attack was intended to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The Israeli military believes Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has lost much of his ability to impose his will on militant groups in southern Lebanon. The military source told Haaretz that Hezbollah militancy was diminished in the wake of the 2006 conflict with Israel.

Israel and Hezbollah engaged in a bruising 34-day conflict in 2006 that ended with a U.N.-brokered cease-fire calling on Israel to respect Lebanese sovereignty while demanding Hezbollah abandon its weapons.

Lebanese reports said their military had arrested several members of a Palestinian militant organization that was allegedly plotting attacks on the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.