Hezbollah Announces Fresh Gains in Border Battle
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement announced on Thursday that its fighters made fresh advances against Syria-based terrorist militants in the mountains southwest of the Lebanese border town of Arsal.
Al-Manar TV said Hezbollah fighters seized Wadi al-Darb and Al-Rahwa checkpoint, which were previously held by Nusra Front militants.
The station also reported that Hezbollah captured Al-Darb crossing, which they claimed was used to smuggle car bombs into the Lebanese village of Labweh.
Hezbollah’s “mujahideen are advancing toward Al-Rahwa plains,” Al-Manar added.
Hezbollah has been a vital ally for Syrian President Bashar Assad in the four-year-long civil war.
Hezbollah fighters killed at least 11 militants Wednesday and seized more than 15 positions from militants north and south of Arsal's outskirts, along the porous mountain range on Syria's western border.
Thousands of militants fighters affiliated with ISIL, the Nusra Front and other groups have been entrenched on the outer edge of Arsal since last spring. In August, the militants briefly overran Arsal, sparking a five-day battle with the Lebanese Army that left dozens dead.
More than 30 soldiers and policemen were taken hostage during the battle, of whom 25 remain in captivity on the town's outskirts, Daily Star reported.