Hizbullah Congratulates Army on Arsal Operation, Urges 'Unified Efforts'
Hizbullah congratulated Friday the Lebanese army on the “successful” security operation that it carried out at dawn in the outskirts of the border town of Arsal, hailing the army's “leadership, officers and soldiers.”
Describing the troops who staged the operation as “heroes,” Hizbullah expressed its solidarity with the soldiers who were injured in the operation, wishing them a quick recovery.
“This new operation complements the efforts that are being exerted by the Lebanese security agencies to address the terrorist threat and eradicate the terrorist groups that are entrenched in many locations,” Hizbullah's media department said in a statement.
“This operation also complements the operations of the resistance fighters on the eastern border that are aimed at preventing the terrorist militants from infiltrating Lebanese territory and ousting them from it,” the party added.
It also called for “a further unification and coordination of efforts to seal all the gaps that the terrorist could infiltrate through, and to protect Lebanon and its people from the major threats that are targeting them.”
A child was killed and seven Lebanese soldiers were wounded at dawn Friday when five militants blew themselves up and a sixth threw a grenade during raids on two refugee encampments in Arsal's outskirts near the Syrian border, the army said.
The raids were aimed at "arresting terrorists and seizing weapons," the Army Command said.
A military source told AFP that troops made a number of arrests.
"The objective of the operation was to arrest a wanted man and it was this man who was the first to blow himself up," the source said.
There have been multiple clashes along the border between the Lebanese army and jihadists of the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front groups.
Since 2014, both the Lebanese army and Hizbullah have carried out attacks on Syria-based jihadists in the eastern border region.
Hizbullah has intervened in the war in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad, sending tens of thousands of fighters. Its strongholds in Lebanon have been hit by several deadly attacks claimed by jihadist groups.
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