Report: 3,000 Islamist Fighters Entrenched along Lebanon's Eastern Border
As the Lebanese army continues to press an offensive against Islamist militants on the outskirts of the northeastern border towns, in cooperation with the Syrian military and Hizbullah, gunmen are still exerting efforts to infiltrate Lebanon.
As Safir newspaper reported on Friday that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Qaida-affiliate al-Nusra Front are currently controlling around 992 kilometers of the outskirts between Syria and Lebanon on the country's Eastern Mountain Range, with 450 kilometers inside Lebanon.
The number of armed men entrenched in the area is around 3,000, including 1,500 fighters that defected the Free Syrian Army and joined the two Islamist groups.
The report said that 750 pledged allegiance to al-Nusra and 800 to ISIL.
According to the newspaper, ISIL and al-Nusra are controlling the outskirts of Asal al-Wared in the Syrian al-Qalamoun, and the upper outskirts of the northeastern border towns of Arsal, Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa.
The militants' area of control reportedly oversees Lebanese areas in the Bekaa Valley, including Brital, Baalbek and Nahlet Younnine.
The daily said that the illegal crossings in Arsal, in particular the Syrian encampments (14) outside the Lebanese army's area of control, are the main funding source for the gunmen.
The two groups reportedly possess a wide range of heavy and light ammunition, in addition to hundreds of rockets, including anti-tank missiles, and a small number of tanks and armored vehicles.
The report comes in light of a military operation on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek in line with efforts to secure villages near the eastern border with neighboring Syria. The Lebanese army seized last week two hilltop positions in the area.
Three soldiers were wounded in the operation, during which militant positions were shelled with artillery and heavy weaponry, the army said in its communique.
The statement did not name the militants, but most are believed to be from the Islamic State group.
They and Nusra Front have been holding around 20 Lebanese soldiers and policemen hostage since August.
The army frequently clashes with the militants in their hideouts near the Syria border.
H.K.
G.K.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/170278 |