Israeli troops kill 20 Hezbollah fighters

JERUSALEM: Israeli troops killed 20 Hezbollah guerrillas during fresh incursions into southern Lebanon over the past 48 hours, the army said on Tuesday.

An army spokeswoman said the latest casualties were inflicted during clashes in the villages of Taibe, Adayseh and Rob Thalatheen, a few kilometres into the Lebanese frontier. 

The army statement originally spoke of fighting on Tuesday, but this was later amended to include Monday''s toll.   

Hezbollah denied suffering serious new casualties in the fighting. A spokesman for the Lebanese guerrilla group said that 43 fighters have died in Israeli assaults launched on July 12.

Israel, which has lost 51 soldiers and civilians, has put the overall Hezbollah death toll at more than 200.