Rockets Hit 3 Bekaa Towns, ISIL Claims Attack
A number of rockets fired from the Syrian side of the border landed in the Bekaa region on Friday, announced the army in a statement, in an attack that was later claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The army said three rockets landed in the outskirts of the towns of al-Labweh and al-Nabi Othman.
No one was injured in the attack.
The army has since deployed patrols in the areas.
Later on Friday, the "Damascus Prefecture" of the Qaida-inspired ISIL claimed responsibility for the rocket attack on its Twitter account and published pictures showing the shelling.
“The positions of the party of Satan (Hizbullah) in Lebanon's al-Labweh were shelled with three Grad rockets in revenge for our people, the Sunni people in (Syria's) Yabrud,” the group said.
Earlier on Friday, the National News Agency reported that four rockets were fired against the eastern Bekaa.
It said that the rockets fired from the eastern mountain range hit the towns of al-Nabi Othman, al-Ain, and al-Labweh.
The source of the attack was the heights of the border town of Arsal, the agency added.
Bekaa towns, with a majority of Shiite population, have repeatedly come under rocket attacks by either rebels seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime or armed men supporting them.
Forces loyal to Assad have seized a string of towns and villages in the rugged Qalamoun region along the Lebanese border since launching an offensive there in November.
Hizbullah fighters have played a significant role in the government push. The party is eager to clear the border area of the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels trying to topple Assad's government.
The Syrian troops loyal to Assad also continue to carry out air raids on Arsal, a majority Sunni town, which is an escape route for rebels and smugglers.
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