Army Shells Militants in Outskirts of Arsal, Ras Baalbek, al-Qaa
The army fired heavy artillery Wednesday at the posts of the militant groups in the outskirts of the Bekaa border town of Arsal after detecting suspicious movements near their positions, state-run National News Agency reported.
It later said that the army had been firing heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers since morning at the posts of the militants in the outskirts of the nearby towns of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa and that the bombardment intensified in the afternoon.
MTV had earlier reported that the jihadist Islamic State group suffered casualties after the army fired artillery at IS posts and movements in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa.
The army has been on high alert since the unprecedented suicide bombings that hit the Christian border town of al-Qaa in late June.
Militants from the IS and the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front are entrenched in rugged areas along the undemarcated Lebanese-Syrian border and the army regularly shells their posts while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border.
The two groups briefly overran the town of Arsal in August 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly battles.
The retreating militants abducted more than 30 troops and policemen of whom four have been executed and nine remain in the captivity of the IS group.
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