Nusra Front Vows to Target Hizbullah Stronghold, Staunch Supporters
Al-Qaida-affiliate al-Nusra Front reiterated threats to target Hizbullah's stronghold, accusing it of supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and committing atrocities against Sunnis in Syria.
“The assaults that Hizbullah is committing against Sunnis in Syria are not a secret anymore... Our target at this stage is to attack the Iranian party's strongholds,” al-Nusra Front said via Twitter.
It labeled Hizbullah staunch supporters as a “legal target,” warning Lebanese of slipping into a losing battle and urging them to take a lesson from the war raging in Syria.
“Don't let Hizbullah make you pay the price of its crimes... The Sunnis have pledged not to return to their homes until they avenge those who treated them with unjust,” the statement continued.
Hizbullah is a close ally of the Syrian regime and has been fighting alongside government troops against an uprising there.
Its involvement has helped the army to recapture key territory, but drawn the ire of many in Lebanon.
Its direct participation in the Syrian conflict has prompted hard-line Sunni radicals to lash out against Shiite communities in Lebanon.
“We have only engaged in battles to fortify the ruling of Allah and prevent oppression against the week, and at this stage we are exerting efforts to compel the Nusairi enemy and its allies to retreat,” al-Nusra Front continued in its statement.
The group said: “We haven't lost the path of jihad and we will not lose it by drawing harm on Sunnis in (the northeastern border town of) Arsal and Lebanon and we will avert it when it's required.”
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 infiltrations.
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.
Concerning the latest round of battles in the northern port city of Tripoli, al-Nusra Front stressed that “the brothers (Sunnis) didn't commence the battles with the army... but they were merely defending themselves, families and Sunni neighborhoods, which angered Hizbu Allat.”
The group also accused Hizbullah of inciting the army against the Sunnis in Tripoli, noting that al-Nusra Front was updated about the details of the attack in Tripoli.
Dozens of people were killed and injured in October when militants engaged in clashes with the military in Tripoli, Bhannine and surrounding areas.
Scores of suspects linked to the unrest have been arrested.
H.K.
G.K.
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