Bomb injures peacekeepers in Lebanon

ROME, May 28 (UPI) -- Six Italian soldiers were hurt in a bomb attack targeting United Nations peacekeepers near Sidon in southern Lebanon, Italian officials said.

Italy's defense ministry said in an ANSA news agency report Saturday the bomb was intended to strike a convoy of four trucks belonging to the Italian contingent attached to the U.N. Interim Force.

One of the soldiers was seriously injured. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the incident wouldn't impact Italy's peacekeeping efforts.

"We are making a crucial contribution to stability in one of the most sensitive areas in the Middle East region," Frattini said.

The explosion occurred on the U.N.'s International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. The event celebrates peacekeepers killed in missions.

Italy has the largest contingent of foreign troops -- about 1,780 soldiers -- in the UNIFIL force. UNIFIL was established under a U.N. Security Council resolution halting the Lebanon War in 2006.

The last such attack was in January 2008 when a roadside bomb hit a U.N. vehicle, wounding two peacekeepers.

Nearly 300 UNIFIL peacekeepers have died since its establishment in 1978.