Lebanese army foils infiltration bid by militants
The Lebanese army has thwarted an attempt by militants trying to infiltrate the Arab country’s northeastern border from neighboring Syria.
The army blocked the infiltration bid early Saturday by pounding militant hideouts in the region of Wadi Rafeq, located on the outskirts of the town of al-Qaa in Lebanon’s Beqaa Governate, state-run National News Agency reported.
The Lebanese military also shelled the outskirts of the village of Ras Baalbek and the town of Arsal, located 124 kilometers (77 miles) northeast of the capital city of Beirut, with heavy artillery.
On June 30, the Lebanese troops clashed with the militants of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and killed five of them.
According to an army statement released following the skirmishes, the terrorists were “ambushed” as they tried to enter Arsal through the Wadi Ata village.
Terrorists affiliated with al-Nusra and the the Takfiri ISIL group overran the border town of Arsal in August last year, killing and capturing more than three dozen soldiers and security forces there.
However, fighters of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah managed to retake full control of several areas in Arsal last month.
Over the past few months, Lebanon has been facing terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda-affiliated militants as well as random rocket strikes, which are viewed as a spillover of the conflict in Syria.
Syria has been grappling with a foreign-sponsored crisis since March 2011. The violence fueled by Takfiri terrorist groups has so far left over 230,000 people dead, according to latest reports.
SSM/MKA/HRB
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