Army Shells Militants in Outskirts of Ras Baalbek
The Lebanese army bombarded the positions of militants in the outskirts of the border town of Ras Baalbek, the state-run National News Agency reported on Saturday.
NNA said: “The army shelled suspicious movements of takfiri militants in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek,” where IS fighters and Syria's al-Qaida affiliate, known as al-Nusra Front, are active.
The militants clash with the army occasionally but a major confrontation erupted in August 2014 when the al-Nusra Front overran Arsal in the wake of the arrest of a senior IS leader.
Nineteen soldiers and around 60 militants were killed in the fighting. The jihadists of the two groups also abducted dozens of troops and policemen of which four were eventually executed.
Nusra released in December 16 servicemen in a prisoner swap that saw the the release of a number of inmates from Lebanese jails.
Source: Naharnet
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