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Bomb blast kills Lebanese soldier in Arsal

Thursday, 24 March 2016 11:49 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 24 March 2016 1:06 PM ]

In this August 2, 2014, file photo, smoke billows from the Lebanese town of Arsal near the Syrian border in eastern Lebanon. ©AP

A Lebanese soldier has reportedly been killed in a bomb explosion that rocked an area near the northeastern town of Arsal close to the Syrian border.

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, a roadside bomb explosion ripped through an army patrol in the Ata valley near Arsal, leaving a soldier dead and three others wounded.

The report quoted a security source as saying that following the blast, the army shelled positions of the Takfiri militants operating on the outskirts of Arsal.

The source, however, did not provide further details about the incident.

Lebanon has been suffering from terrorist assaults by Takfiri militants as well as random rocket attacks, which are viewed as a spillover of the conflict in neighboring Syria.

The Lebanese army has been, for months, carrying out operations around Arsal, where thousands of militants from al-Nusra Front as well as members of Daesh are believed to be operating.

Along with the army, Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah has also been involved in an anti-militant operation in the neighboring mountainous region of Qalamoun, retaking numerous positions from the al-Nusra and other militant groups.

In August 2014, al-Nusra Front and Daesh militants overran the eastern Lebanese town of Arsal, killing a number of Lebanese forces. The Takfiri elements later withdrew from the area under their control, but took with them 30 hostages from the Lebanese army and police.

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