Syrian Army, Hezbollah Make Advances in Syria-Lebanon Border Qalamoun

The Syrian sources told Tasnim that al-Tharir al-Aswad hill near the Syrian town of Fleita in the West Qalamoun in joint border with Lebanon have been cleansed of Takfiri terrorists.

The Syrian Army and Hezbollah continue progress in Fleita hills and in Lebanon, the country’s Army advanced in Juroud Arsal toward the Takfiris’ positions in Qanzah, and Wadi al-Qariyah southeast of Juroud Arsal.

The Syrian Army and Hezbollah forces have made advances in Fleita hills and reached al-Haj Mohsen region. They liberated large areas and forced al-Nusra Front (now known as Tahrir al-Sham) terrorists to escape the region.

The Syrian Army targeted terrorists’ gatherings in al-Zalil, al-Karah and al-Elm Mountains in West Qalamoun.

According to the Hezbollah’s Military Media Center, the battle to cleanse Arsal outskirts from al-Nusra Takfiri terrorists started off early on Friday.

Hezbollah Lebanese resistance fighters, backed by Syrian warplanes and artillery, were targeting al-Nusra Front gatherings in Arsal outskirts and Qalamoun.

“There is no time limit for the operation… which will be carried out according to planned phases,” Hezbollah Media Center said in a tweet.

Meantime Press TV reported that nearly 3,000 militants, two-third of which are from Daesh and al-Nusra Takfiri groups, have been using the barren area in the mountains between Syria and Lebanon as a base to organize attacks inside Syria.

The Lebanese army has also enhanced its deployment on the outskirts of Arsal town to prevent militants from fleeing into Lebanon, a Lebanese security source said.

Hours after the launch of the offensive, Syrian forces and their Hezbollah allies seized the Tallat al-Burkan hill west of Qalamoun from the militants.

Reuters quoted a Lebanese security source as saying that Syrian refugees fled from camps located in an area of the Lebanese-Syrian border in the wake of the operation.

Earlier in July, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gave an ultimatum to the militants along the border near the country’s northeastern area of Arsal to reach an agreement with Syrian officials, warning that it was “high time to end the threat of militant groups in Arsal.”

On Tuesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said the Lebanese army would launch an operation against Takfiri terrorists in Juroud Arsal, noting that the government has given the army the “freedom” to take action.

The Arsal area was hardly hit by the spillover of the Syria crisis in 2014, when the militants managed to overrun the town for a brief period.

Around 45,000 Syrian refugees registered with the UN live in the town, but more are believed to be living in camps in the Jurud area, although their numbers have not been confirmed.