Hizbullah Reports New Progress against IS along Lebanon Border
Hizbullah's mouthpiece al-Manar TV station reported on Tuesday new achievements by the Syrian army and the party's fighters along the rugged Syrian-Lebanese border.
Al-Manar said that Syrian troops and Hizbullah fighters controlled Ras al-Kosh and Qornet Ras al-Saabeh on the outskirts of al-Jarajeer in the Syrian area of Qalamoun.
Several Islamic State group extremists were killed in the fighting, the TV station claimed.
Last week, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that his group had begun to fight the IS.
The fighting in Qalamoun had been previously between Hizbullah and al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front.
Hizbullah has intervened militarily in Syria on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad, saying it is protecting Lebanon from the threat of jihadists in the neighboring country.
The joint Hizbullah-Syrian army offensive to clear the border area of rebel militias began more than a month ago, and Nasrallah has included updates on the assault in numerous televised speeches since then.
Meanwhile, media reports said Tuesday that an IS leader identified as Abou al-Walid al-Maqdesi was killed overnight in fighting between his group and al-Nusra Front militants in the area of Wadi Hmeid on the outskirts of the Lebanese border town of Arsal.
Al-Maqdesi was in his car along with his wife when he died, they said.
The woman was taken to hospital for being injured in the attack, they added.
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