A suspected Israeli spying device is seen in the southern village of Houla, near the border with Israel, Lebanon, 18 Oct 2009
A United Nations probe into mysterious blasts in southern Lebanon indicates Israel had planted spying devices in the area during its war against Hezbollah.

The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon said its preliminary investigation into two explosions showed they had been caused by the detonation of underground sensor devices. It said the Israeli military apparently planted these devices in border towns in 2006.

A Lebanese military source says the spying gadgets exploded when they were discovered by Lebanese forces in recent days. The blasts occurred in the southern border towns of Houla and Mais al-Jabal.

There are conflicting reports as to whether the devices were booby-trapped or detonated by remote-control upon discovery.  

Hezbollah also accused Israel of planting the spying devices.

In response, the Israeli army issued a statement late Sunday accusing Hezbollah of trying to divert attention from the militant group's violations of the U.N. resolution that ended their month-long war.

The Shi'ite movement Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war in 2006 that killed about 1,200 people in Lebanon and 160 in Israel.

Israel launched the assault on Lebanon after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed three others in a cross-border raid. Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel during the war. 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.