Nasrallah: Nusra Suffered Major Defeat in Arsal Outskirts, Battle with IS Has Begun
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah declared Wednesday that the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front has suffered a “major defeat” at the hands of his group's fighters in the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal, as he announced that the battle against the Islamic State group has started in the border region.
“In the past few days, major achievements were made in (the Syrian border region of) Qalamoun, and I can say that the strategic hills and mountains in that area are now under the control of the Syrian army and the men of the resistance,” said Nasrallah via video link to a conference about Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“As for Arsal's outskirts, huge advances have happened and al-Nusra Front suffered a major defeat,” added Nasrallah.
He also noted that “the battle against the IS in Qalamoun and the Eastern Mountain Range has started.”
Since last week, Hizbullah has made a series of military advances in Arsal's outskirts, seizing several strategic posts from al-Nusra's hands. Nasrallah announced Friday that the party managed to "liberate dozens of square kilometers" of land in Qalamoun.
On Tuesday, the party repelled an IS attack on the outskirts of the north Bekaa border areas of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek. Hizbullah has also managed to link the outskirts of the Syrian border town of Flita with the edges of Arsal.
“We are determined to eradicate the takfiri presence on our border no matter the sacrifices, and we stress that we will no longer accept the presence of takfiris near our villages,” Nasrallah underlined on Wednesday.
He noted that it was the IS that began the battle on Monday by attacking Hizbullah's posts.
“It is better for us when a certain group begins the battle against us,” said Nasrallah.
“The IS tried to attack us in an attempt to undermine our morale and advance in the al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek regions, but the brothers in the resistance repelled them, killing and wounding dozens of them,” Hizbullah's chief added.
Y.R.
M.T.
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