Conflicting Reports over Army Firing at Syrian Warplanes after Airstrike on Arsal
Conflicting reports emerged on Wednesday on whether the Lebanese army opened anti-aircraft fire at Syrian warplanes that intensively hovered over regions the Lebanese border town of Arsal, in the eastern Bekaa.
MTV said that a Syrian airstrike targeted an area near a post for the Lebanese army in village of Aqba al-Mabeeda, prompting the army to open anti-aircraft fire.
However, security sources denied in comments to LBCI that the Lebanese army used its air defense systems against Syrian warplanes.
The state-run National News Agency reported that Syrian warplanes staged three airstrike, targeting the villages of Kherbet Younine and Wadi Ajram on the outskirts of Arsal.
Reports said that several people were submitted to nearby hospitals after sustaining injuries, however, the number of casualties wasn't clear.
Later, NNA reported that another raid targeted the border town of Kherbet Younine, Khirbet Daoud, Wadi al-Khayl and routes that link Lebanon with the Syrian territories.
Blasts caused by the Syrian bombarding of areas on the outskirts of Arsal were heard in Hermel, a Hizbullah stronghold.
Later, the news agency said that a rocket from the Syrian side of the border landed on the outskirts of the Bekaa town of Jinta.
The raid was the latest in a string of cross-border strikes against Arsal. On Monday, Syrian warplanes fired 18 missiles on the outskirts of Arsal and nearby areas.
A December air raid prompted the Lebanese Army to fire back with anti-aircraft guns.
Arsal has a long shared border with Syria, stretching along much of Damascus province and part of Homs province.
That was believed to be the first time the Lebanese army had responded to a raid, though it had previously threatened to do so.
Since the eruption of the neighboring country's war, Arsal has repeatedly been targeted with Syrian rockets.
Smugglers have long taken their goods across the porous border, and since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in March 2011, weapons and fighters have moved across the border too.
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