Raad Calls for 'Rescuing Arsal from Threat of Takfiri Terrorists'

Hizbullah's top lawmaker called Monday for “rescuing” the northeastern border town of Arsal from what he called “the threat of takfiri terrorists.”

“The fall of the (Syrian) city of al-Qaryatain that stretches to (Syria's) Qalamun mountains represents a new bulwark in the face of the takfiris that will stop their infiltration, and they will suffer isolation and a siege that will affect the rest of them who are present in Arsal's outskirts,” head of Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad said.

“We will see how our Lebanese state and government will deal with these militants, who are now deprived of supplies and means of communication,” Raad added.

“Why should we allow the takfiris to keep tampering with the security of our villages and towns in the Bekaa? Why don't we take a national sovereign decision to rescue Arsal from the threat of these takfiri terrorists?” the lawmaker wondered.

“Those who were counting on the presence of these militants to achieve some political goals are now facing a dead end,” the MP added.

He called on the alleged parties to “change their roadmap” and to “coexist with their partners in this country instead of being part of a threat that is also targeted against them.”

The Syrian army and its allies seized the city of al-Qaryatain on Sunday, according to state television. The city was the last stronghold of the Islamic State group in central Syria.

IS jihadists withdrew from the town a week after the Russian-backed army and allied militia scored a major victory in the ancient city of Palmyra, which is also located in the vast province of Homs.

Militants from the IS and the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front are entrenched in mountainous areas in Arsal's outskirts and other places along the Lebanese-Syrian border.

Jihadists from the two groups stormed Arsal in August 2014 and engaged in deadly battles with the Lebanese army.

The army still shells their positions upon detecting suspicious movements and fighters from Hizbullah have also engaged in clashes with them in the border region.

Y.R.