Hizbullah Using Weaponized Drones against IS in Syria

Hizbullah has used weaponized drones against the Islamic State group across the border in war-ravaged Syria, its media arm said on Monday.

A source on the ground told the AFP news agency it was the first time that Hizbullah had deployed weaponized drones against IS in Syria, where the Iran-backed party is fighting to bolster President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

"The armed drones of the Resistance (Hizbullah) targeted Daesh positions and fortifications in western Qalamun," Hizbullah's War Media channel said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

On Saturday, Hizbullah said it had launched an operation against IS in a hilly region known as western Qalamun, near Syria's border with Lebanon.

The Lebanese army announced a simultaneous offensive on the Lebanese side of the frontier, and has already recaptured two-thirds of the area.

A source on the ground told AFP on Monday that "this is the first time Hizbullah has used weaponized drones in a clash with IS."

The group had deployed such drones in previous clashes with other jihadists and rebels, "but now we are unleashing a barrage of bombs," the source said.

Security along Lebanon's unmarked eastern border with Syria has long been a concern.

Last month, Hizbullah waged a six-day assault against al-Qaida's former affiliate in the border region, al-Nusra Front, which ended in the evacuation of the jihadists and thousands of civilians.

The current offensive targets remaining territory further north along the frontier where IS militants have entrenched themselves.

The Lebanese army has denied any coordination with Hizbullah or the Syrian army on the ongoing assault.

IS itself has used weaponized drones to defend territory it holds in Iraq and Syria from U.S.-backed offensives.