Army Bombs Gunmen in Qaa Outskirts, Destroys Defenses near Wadi al-Hosn

The army opened artillery fire Sunday evening after detecting movements by militant groups in the outskirts of the Bekaa border towns of Arsal and al-Qaa.

“The Lebanese army fired artillery at movements by the armed groups in the Wadi Rafeq area in al-Qaa's outskirts,” LBCI television reported.

The army meanwhile issued a communique announcing that one of its units “raided sawmills and stone quarries facing the Wadi al-Hosn area in Arsal's outskirts, destroying fortifications that had been set up by the armed terrorist groups.”

Troops found “quantities of hashish, syringes, military equipment and a sum of money,” the army added.

Earlier on Sunday, the army thwarted an attempt by gunmen to infiltrate the outskirts of Arsal, reported the National News Agency.

It said that the army engaged in clashes with the terrorists.

A number of the gunmen were killed and others wounded in the fighting that erupted at dawn.

The mountainous area along the Lebanese-Syrian border has long been a smuggling haven, with multiple routes into Syria that have been used to transport weapons and fighters.

The army has been targeting gunmen along the country's eastern border to prevent them from advancing.

The jihadists remain entrenched on the outskirts of Arsal on the porous Syrian-Lebanese border.

Y.R./M.T.