Israeli spy device blast kills Hizbollah man in Lebanon

BEIRUT — A member of Lebanon's Hizbollah was killed when an Israeli listening device exploded in the south of the country, the Shiite group said on Saturday.

On Friday, the army said that a "suspicious device" had been found near the town of Adlun, and that "the Israeli enemy blew it up remotely, killing a civilian who was in the area".

Hizbollah confirmed that the man killed was in fact one of its own.

"With pride, the Islamic Resistance announces the death of the hero Hassan Haidar Ali, a native of the town of Ansariyeh in southern Lebanon," the group said in a statement.

It added that Haidar had discovered the device "placed in the communications network of the Resistance" and had been working to dismantle it.

Lebanon has frequently reported Israeli espionage devices being destroyed in the south of the country since Hizbollah and Israel fought a devastating war in 2006.

More than 100 people accused of spying for Israel have been arrested in Lebanon since April 2009, most of them army members or telecommunications employees.