The IDF announced Thursday that the deputy commander of the 36th Division (rank of colonel), the commander of the 556th Transport Regiment (reserve lieutenant colonel), and five other soldiers were injured in an explosion Wednesday at 17:00 on the Litani River. Staff Sergeant (res.) Alexander Filin, 29, of Haifa, was killed. A preliminary IDF probe attributes the blast to a Hezbollah explosive device. Artillery struck terrorist infrastructure in response.
The IDF on Thursday morning released a full casualty breakdown from the Wednesday 17:00 explosion in the Litani River area of southern Lebanon, updating an earlier report of casualties. The incident occurred while the deputy commander of the 36th Division, his forward command team, and other soldiers were patrolling on foot along the Litani River, according to the military. The dead soldier was named as Staff Sergeant (res.) Alexander Filin, 29, a combat soldier with the 36th Division's headquarters from Haifa. His name was cleared for publication earlier this morning. Among the wounded: the deputy division commander (rank of colonel), who was moderately injured together with the commander of the 556th Transport Regiment (a reservist lieutenant colonel) and another reservist. A combat soldier, two reserve combat soldiers, and a female soldier sustained light injuries. As the IDF had previously reported, artillery struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in response to the attack. The military's preliminary inquiry assesses that the blast was caused by a Hezbollah-placed explosive device; further investigation is ongoing. The update follows a series of IDF statements since the initial announcement of Filin's death at 05:58 Jerusalem on Thursday. At that hour, the IDF cleared his name for publication with no additional details. By 05:58, the IDF reported six wounded soldiers and described the device as likely enemy-placed. A subsequent update at the same minute listed eight wounded, including a battalion commander and a command post officer. The current release adds the specific ranks of the moderately wounded — a colonel (deputy division commander) and a reserve lieutenant colonel — and confirms the casualty figures. The incident highlights the ongoing threat from Hezbollah's improvised explosive devices in the area, as The Zioneer has previously reported on Hezbollah's use of mortars and other weapons positions near the Litani River. What remains open is the precise origin and placement of the device — the IDF's preliminary assessment is that it was enemy-placed, but the investigation is ongoing.
6 developments
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- StrongIDF releases name of reservist killed by Hezbollah IED in southern Lebanon
- StrongLebanese Health Ministry: 15 killed, 70 wounded in IDF strikes on southern Lebanon yesterday
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