Report: Nusra-IS Clashes Result of Lebanese Army Siege
Al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front militants launched a surprise attack against the Islamic State extremist group along the Lebanese-Syrian border on Wednesday as a result of the siege laid by the Lebanese army and Hizbullah against the fighters, informed sources told al-Akhbar daily on Thursday.
The newspaper said that the clashes, which have left scores dead and injured, were the bloodiest between the rival extremists.
The sounds of gunshots and explosions reverberated across the northeastern border town of Arsal on Wednesday.
Al-Akhbar said the extremists are trying to take over bases from their rivals to improve their battle positions after the siege laid by the Lebanese military and Hizbullah left them incapacitated in the harsh winter cold.
The IS and al-Nusra Front are taking the porous Lebanese-Syrian border as a refuge since 2014.
The gunmen clash with the army occasionally. But the major confrontation between them took place in August 2014 when they overran Arsal.
The state-run National News Agency said Thursday that the Lebanese army targeted terrorists from the IS with heavy artillery overnight.
It left many of them injured after they tried to infiltrate to Arsal from Sahel Ajram and al-Malahi area.
G.K.
D.A.
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