Hezbollah registers gains against al-Nusra Front on Lebanese border

Hezbollah registered gains on the second day of its operation against the Al Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front entrenched on the outskirts of the border town of Arsal, the media reported on Saturday.

"Hezbollah fighters secured gains as they caught the hills of Wadi al-Khayl and al-Qanzah following heavy clashes with al-Nusra terrorists," Xinhua news agency reported.

While the sounds of sporadic shelling on the south-eastern positions of Arsal were still heard, the Lebanese Army has tightened security to prevent the militants from escaping into the town.

It is reported that clashes between Hezbollah fighters and the militants were ongoing mainly in al-Rahweh plain and Dahret al-Houwweh post.

Airstrikes continued targeting gunmen with artillery at night, with support from the Syrian air force, and the sounds could be clearly heard after midnight in the towns adjacent to the Eastern Mountain Range.

On Friday, Hezbollah said it had begun military operations against militants on both sides of the country's eastern border with Syria "to purge outskirts of Arsal and Qalamoun of armed terrorists".

--IANS

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