Military sources slammed media reports claiming that the situation in the northeastern border town of Arsal is deteriorating and assured that the situation is fully under control, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.
“The army is closely watching the security situation inside the town of Arsal and its outskirts. It is carrying out preemptive operations to counter sources of danger,” the source told the daily on condition of anonymity.
It strongly denied reports alleging that the situation is crumbling down.
The source added that the army is ready to counter any threat whether it came from Daesh [ISIS] or other, it said: “The military puts plans and takes into consideration all the possibilities in case of any developments. It is ready to face the IS or any other group that thinks of approaching the town of Arsal or even attempt to implement a breach.”
Highlighting the latest army operation in Arsal's Wadi al-Araneb, the source said it came after thorough monitoring of the militant group and that the operation was carried out without any cooperation with foreign intelligence apparatus.
On Wednesday the army carried out a preemptive attack on militants taking the Lebanese-Syrian border as a refuge and killed six Daesh militants and arrested 16 others in its biggest operation against the extremist group on the outskirts of the town of Arsal.
The arrested suspects have told investigators that the militants were plotting an attack on the army similar to the 2014 assault that left scores of policemen and troops dead and injured.
Editor's note: This article has been edited from the source material
