Hezbollah’s death toll in the battle against militants on Lebanon’s eastern borders has risen to at least 29, with three fighters dying Friday as the group advanced further into Arsal’s outskirts.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah and the Syrian army made new advancements in Syrian territory east of the area, capturing a new hilltop.
According to The Daily Star’s security sources, three Hezbollah fighters were killed during the battles Friday against Nusra Frontmilitants in the southern part of Arsal’s outskirts.
The group has lost at least 29 fighters since it launched a military offensive alongside the Syrian army against militants in the Qalamoun hills.
The offensive has resulted in the seizure of hundreds of square kilometers of territory and pushed the militants closer to the outskirts of the northeastern Lebanese town of Arsal.
On Saturday, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV announced that the group’s fighters and Syrian army soldiers captured the hill of Sadr al-Bustan, thus taking control of the outskirts of Flita, a Syrian village east of Arsal. The battles in the village had been going on for weeks between Hezbollah and its Syrian army allies and the Nusra Front.
The report said dozens of militants were killed during the recent fighting.
The Al-Qaeda affiliate has now been forced to retreat to a Daesh-controlled zone named Jarjeer on Arsal’s outskirts, Al-Manar said.
Daesh controls most of the areas north of Arsal’s outskirts, as well as large parts of areas bordering the Lebanese towns of Al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek.
In Flita’s outskirts, Hezbollah and the Syrian Army seized Al-Thallaja hill Friday, overcoming a key obstacle to controlling the entire area, according to the station.
A series of nearby hills called Shaabat al-Qalaa were also taken Friday. The captured hills, with peaks reaching an altitude of 2300 meters above sea level, allows Hezbollah and Syrian army forces to overlook the Zarmani Crossing, which is currently controlled by Daesh.
Al-Akhbar newspaper quoted “field sources” Saturday saying that the Shaabat al-Qalaa hills were a stronghold of Nusra Front in the area, and most likely contained the residence of the group’s Qalamoun leader Abou Malek al-Talleh.
In the southern part of Arsal’s outskirts, Hezbollah achieved a considerable advance Friday, according to al-Manar. The channel said the fighters took over the entire area known as Al-Rahwe, and pushed the Nusra Front to retreat into Wadi al-Khayl in Arsal’s outskirts.
As Hezbollah and the Syrian army close in on the Nusra Front's forces on Arsal’s outskirts from the east and south, the fate of the militants is highly dependent on the group’s relations with Daesh, which have been tense of late.
After a series of provocations by the notorious fundamentalist group, the Nusra Front vowed to “eradicate” Daesh from Qalamoun.
Al-Akhbar’s report concluded that Nusra Front militants had three choices in terms of military action in the area: Either to surrender to Hezbollah and the Syrian army, to surrender to Daesh or to attack the town of Arsal guarded by the Lebanese Army.
The Nusra Front and Daesh entered Arsal last August and engaged in deadly clashes with the Army, resulting in dozens of deaths and abductions. The two groups now keep 25 Lebanese policemen and Army soldiers hostage in hideouts in Arsal’s outskirts, after eight were freed and four executed.
