Syrian fighter killed in battles with 'drug smugglers' near Lebanon border, monitor says

New Syria's Military Operations Administration managed to take control of the Hawik village on the Syria-Lebanon border after fierce battles against drug smugglers and gunmen "close to the Lebanese Hezbollah" group, a Syria war monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday that the Syrian militants attacked different villages in the western countryside of Homs, including Hawik, Bluzah, Al-Fadliyah, and Akoum "with Shaheen drones, artillery fire, and heavy weapons."

A member of the Military Operations Administration was killed and members were captured and injured on both sides, the Britain-based Observatory said.

Armed clashes had erupted Thursday in the Syrian-Lebanese border region between the Zoaiter and Jaafar Lebanese clans and fighters from Syria’s Military Operations Administration.