Hizbullah Repels Incursion by Terrorists into Tufail

Hizbullah reportedly repelled an incursion by terrorist groups into the Lebanese eastern border village of Tufail, As Safir newspaper reported on Saturday.

According to the daily, armed terrorist groups tried to infiltrate into the town overnight but Hizbullah fighters in the village forced them to retreat.

The newspaper said that the situation in the town was under control.

In April, Tufail was isolated after the only road that leads to the town came under the control of Syrian government troops.

The town is located at the end of the eastern mountain belt's plains, in an area that is 24 kilometers inside Syrian territories. Tufail is surrounded by Syrian lands to its north, east and south, and by the Lebanese villages of Ham, Maarboun and Brital to its west.

More than 4,000 Christian and Muslim Lebanese nationals reside in Tufail, among them there are around 25 soldiers in the army. The village also hosts some 5,000 Syrian refugees.

The state-run National News Agency reported on Friday that fierce clashes erupted between the Lebanese army and gunmen on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.

Jihadists from al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group are entrenched on the outskirts of Arsal on the porous Syrian-Lebanese border.

H.K.

D.A.