Army Pounds IS Posts in al-Qaa, Ras Baalbek

Lebanon's army shelled the positions of the jihadist Islamic State group entrenched in the outskirts of the border town of al-Qaa and on the heights of Ras Baalbek's outskirts, the National News Agency reported Friday.

NNA said the military forces have monitored suspicious movements.

The army reinforced its measures on Wednesday sending elite units into the Bekaa region for a possible operation against the IS in the outskirts of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek.

The army's Airborne Regiment reinforced its posts “in anticipation of any infiltration or escape attempts by the militants into the two towns,” the National News Agency had said.

The army's shelling comes one day after a ceasefire agreement between Hizbullah and al-Nusra Front militant group in the outskirts of Arsal.

Hizbullah began the assault on fighters from al-Qaida's former Syrian affiliate, previously known as al-Nusra Front, in the border region of Arsal's outskirts last week.

The ceasefire deal will see jihadist fighters withdraw from the Syria-Lebanon border, to the Syrian province of Idlib.

On Thursday afternoon, the head of Lebanon's General Security agency Major General Ibrahim Abbas confirmed the deal.

In his speech on Wednesday, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his fighters were willing to hand the territory they have secured to Lebanese troops.

But the group's fighters told journalists in Arsal's outskirts that another phase of the battle to secure the region was still ahead.

They said Islamic State group fighters still hold parts of Arsal's outskirts and the area around two border towns, but anticipated an easy victory.