Syrian Warplanes Raid Outskirts of Arsal

Syrian warplanes raided on Saturday posts controlled by gunmen on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.

The state-run National News Agency reported that the targeted positions lie in Khirbet Younine area on the outskirts of Arsal in Lebanon's Eastern Mountain range.

Syrian warplanes continuously target areas along Lebanon's border since the uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad erupted in 2011.

Arsal, a predominantly Sunni area, backs the uprising against Assad.

The town lies 12 kilometers from the border with Syria and served as a key conduit for refugees, rebels and wounded people fleeing strife-torn Syria, but the Lebanese army stepped up it's security measures in the village to stop infiltration.

It was overran in August by gunmen belonging to the two al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who withdrew from the town by taking several soldiers and policemen hostage. Four have been so far executed.

The jihadists remain entrenched on the outskirts of Arsal on the porous Syrian-Lebanese border.

H.K.

D.A.