How Israel built a modern-day Trojan horse - exploding pagers

The pagers began beeping just after 3.30pm on the afternoon of Sept 17 in Lebanon, alerting Hezbollah operatives to a message from their leaders in a chorus of chimes, melodies and buzzes.

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But it was not the militants' leaders. The pages had been sent by Hezbollah's arch enemy and within seconds, the alerts were followed by the sounds of explosions and cries of pain and panic in streets, shops and homes across Lebanon.

Powered by just a few ounces of an explosive compound concealed within the devices, the blasts sent grown men flying off motorcycles and slamming into walls, according to witnesses and video footage. People out shopping fell to the ground, writhing in agony, smoke snaking from their pockets.

Mr Mohammed Awada, 52, and his son were driving by one man whose pager exploded, he said. "My son went crazy and started to scream when he saw the man's hand flying away from him."

By the end of the day, at least a dozen people were dead and more than 2,700 were wounded, many of them maimed.

And the following day, 20 more people were killed and hundreds wounded when walkie-talkies in Lebanon also began mysteriously exploding.

Some of the dead and wounded were Hezbollah members, but others were not - four of the dead were children.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied any role in the explosions, but 12 current and former defence and intelligence officials who were briefed on the attack say the Israelis were behind it, describing the operation as complex and long in the making.

They spoke to The New York Times on the condition of anonymity, given the sensitivity of the subject.

The booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies were the latest salvo in the decades-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which is based across the border in Lebanon.

The tensions escalated after the war began in the Gaza Strip. Iranian-backed groups including Hezbollah have long been vulnerable to Israeli attacks using sophisticated technologies.