BEIRUT: Lebanon complained Monday to the United Nations over Israel’s response to a rocket attack, as the group suspected of launching the assault distanced itself from the incident.

The Foreign Ministry filed a complaint to the U.N. Security Council via its representative in New York, Nawaf Salam, alleging that Israel had violated international law and threatened international peace and security by firing a salvo of artillery shells into south Lebanon as a riposte to the launch of a single rocket in a remote area.

Israeli media have suggested that the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, a militant Islamist group, was behind the Nov. 29 attack, but the organization denied involvement in a statement Monday, instead blaming Hezbollah associates.

“This operation was carried out to benefit the regime of [Syrian President Bashar Assad] and his ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah via elements belonging to a faction that we know to have relations with the party,” the statement said.

The group warned Lebanon to be “careful of the tricks of Syrian intelligence and security apparatus” and claimed Syria was behind the kidnapping of seven Estonians tourists in the Bekaa Valley in March.

“We categorize this operation [the rocket attack], since it took place at this time and via hands that were animated by [Hezbollah], as a message from [President Assad] and his people to the West and to the Jews, the message being that if they let the criminal Baathist regime in Syria fall, then the young Sunnis will attack [Israel] and that [Assad] and [Hezbollah] are the only guarantee of the safety of the borders of [Israel,” the group said.

“The person who directed the [Estonian kidnapping] was a agent of Syrian intelligence – we have full information about him – and he resides permanently in Syria and claims to be a member of one of the Islamist groups,” it added.

The Brigades also denied involvement in the twin bomb blasts that targeted U.N. peacekeeping troops during the summer.

Last month’s rocket attack was the first of its kind for two years; the Abdullah Azzam Brigades have taken responsibility for previous such aggressions launched from south Lebanon. The incident drew local and international criticism and violated U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which stipulates no arms outside of state control may be used or maintained in south Lebanon.

The U.N. Special Representative for Lebanon ad interim Robert Watkins said his organization expected Lebanon to work toward maintaining security throughout the country.

“The U.N. welcomes any step that Lebanon took to ensure stability and I voiced our expectation that he would help in continuing to respect all of Lebanon’s international obligations, including those related to Security Council Resolution 1701,” Watkins said after meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Several security lapses have rocked stability in the south in recent weeks, including a pair of explosions that Hezbollah has attributed to combusting Israeli reconnaissance materiel.