US sources: Israel planned for 15 years to blow up pagers

An American intelligence source confirmed to ABC News that Israel had a role in manufacturing the pagers that exploded in Lebanon, indicating that the operation had been planned for 15 years. The source said that planning for "supply chain interception" operations had been planned for at least 15 years, indicating that the CIA had long been reluctant to use this tactic because the risk to innocent people was too high. The source confirmed that planning for the attack involved shell companies, with multiple layers of Israeli intelligence officers and their assets facing off against a legitimate company that produced the pagers, with some of those doing the work unaware of who they were working for. The network said it contacted BAC Consulting, the Hungary-based company contracted to produce the pagers on behalf of Taiwan's Gold Apollo, but neither company responded to the request. A Hungarian government spokesman told ABC News that the pagers were never in Hungary and the company was "a commercial interme diary, with no manufacturing or operating location in the country." The explosions that rocked Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, which were remotely triggered by explosives inside pagers and walkie-talkies, killed at least 37 people and injured 2,931 others, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad. Source: Maan News Agency