Hezbollah Devastates Al-Qaeda at Jaroud Arsal
It has been a rough week for the Syrian Al-Qaeda organization “Jabhat Al-Nusra” in the Qalamoun Mountains of eastern Lebanon and western Syria, as Hezbollah and the Syrian Arab Army’s 20th and 128th Brigades of the 1st Armored Division have imposed full-control over the strategic town of Faleeta and its surrounding area, while across the border, the Lebanese Resistance has begun military operations at the ‘Arsal Barrens.
Much to the surprise of Jabhat Al-Nusra and their affiliates, Hezbollah has been relentless in their assault at the ‘Arsal Barrens, attacking a number of sites along the Syrian border of Lebanon that are under the control of Al-Qaeda; this area of the Beqa’a Governorate is also under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq Al-Sham (ISIS), who has approximately 1,500 armed militants entrenched in the northwestern hills of the Qalamoun Mountains.
On Sunday afternoon, the Lebanese Resistance continued their powerful assault on the defensive positions of Jabhat Al-Nusra at Jaroud ‘Arsal, killing 22 enemy combatants and destroying two armored vehicles mounted with machine gun turrets before they were able to take full-control of Qurnah Al-Tanour in the southeastern barren region.
While Hezbollah officials have publicly stated that they will not proceed past the ‘Arsal Barrens, the Lebanese Armed Forces are currently entrenched on the outskirts of the ‘Arsal District; this Hezbollah offensive will put the Lebanese Army in position to encircle the terrorist groups and reopen their closed checkpoints on the Syrian border.
