BEIRUT, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces detained five Lebanese persons from the southern Lebanese border town of Aita Al-Shaab on Friday, local residents and Lebanese security sources said.

    According to the sources, the Israeli forces captured the five people, including four young men and a policeman, from a school in the town.

    Local residents said the four young men working at the local school were detained Friday afternoon by an Israeli army force crossed over the border about one kilometer away, while the policeman was seized when he arrived on the scene.

    The Israeli military said it only captured four armed men.

    "The four armed men were moving towards the international border and were detained in the south of Aita ash-Shaab by our forces which had been carrying out a routine patrol," said a military spokesman in Tel Aviv, quoted by media reports.

    The Aita Al-Shaab town saw heavy fighting between Hezbollah guerrillas and Israeli forces during their 34-day-long military conflict in south Lebanon following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants on July 12.

    The Israeli army has detained dozens of Lebanese since the offensive but all but one has been released within 48 hours, it was reported.

    The Israeli government confirmed on Friday that its blockade on Lebanon was lifted, but would reserve the right to stop arms smuggle along the Lebanon-Syria border. Enditem