Hizbullah in 'Fierce' Clashes with Militants in Brital, Tufail Outskirts
Fierce clashes erupted Tuesday between Hizbullah fighters and militant groups in the outskirts of the towns of Tufail and Brital on Syria's border, Hizbullah's al-Manar TV reported.
“Five vehicles were destroyed and 12 militants were killed in the clashes,” al-Manar added.
The pro-Hizbullah al-Mayadeen television meanwhile reported the death of “dozens” of fighters from the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front in “advanced ambushes set up by Hizbullah members in the outskirts of Tufail and Brital.”
Meanwhile, Sky News Arabia TV said “Ali Alayyan, the chief of Hizbullah's military operations in Qalamun, was killed in Qalamun's battles.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights for its part said a Hizbullah “field commander” was killed in “shelling and clashes with Islamist factions and al-Nusra Front” in the “Reef Damascus province,” in which Qalamun is located.
On Monday, Islamist rebels led by al-Nusra launched a preemptive strike on pro-regime forces in a mountainous area near the Lebanese border, setting off fierce clashes, a monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said al-Nusra and other groups attacked positions belonging to the regime and Hizbullah, which backs the government, in the Qalamun region.
Last year, government forces backed by Hizbullah managed to expel rebels from most of Qalamun, which lies north of Damascus and runs along the Lebanese border.
But opposition fighters remain entrenched in the mountainous area along the border with Lebanon, and have launched attacks from there.
A source close to al-Nusra confirmed Monday's fighting in the region. "This is the zero hour and the battle in the region has begun," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A Syrian source on the ground also described Monday's clashes in the area.
"The Syrian army and its allies blocked an attack by armed groups on army positions near the border with Lebanon," he told AFP.
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said Monday's "attack by al-Nusra, as well as the Islamist and rebel factions, came as a preemptive strike against Hizbullah, which was expected to begin military operations (against the rebels) in Qalamun in the coming days."
In recent weeks, Lebanese media had reported an impending offensive by Hizbullah and pro-government forces on Qalamun.
The rebel presence in the area has been a persistent problem for both the Syrian army and Lebanon's military, which has battled jihadists crossing from Syria in Lebanese border towns in recent months.
Last year, jihadists coming from Syria briefly overran the Lebanese border town of Arsal, seizing several dozen security forces as hostages.
Four have since been executed and another 25 -- police and soldiers -- remain in the hands of al-Nusra and the Islamic State group.
Y.R.
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