15 Hezbollah elements killed in Jeroud Arsal

The death toll of the Lebanese Hezbollah on the first day of the battle of Qalamoun raised to 15 elements, in addition to its equipment losses, while other two elements were captured, according to field sources.

Violent clashes between factions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Levant Liberation Committee (LLC) continued against Hezbollah militia and the Syrian government forces on several axes in Jeroud Arsal and Jeroud Flitah in western Qalamoun.

Hezbollah fighters, supported by government forces, launched a three-pronged attack in different areas in the city. Sources stressed that the Lebanese Hezbollah militia made progress in the Sahl al-Rahwa area in Jeroud Arsal after violent clashes with the factions amidst mutual artillery shelling, backed by attacks carried out by Syrian warplanes.

The sources said that a number of fighters of FSA and LLC were killed after targeting their gatherings by Hezbollah militia with thermal missiles aimed at four-wheel drive vehicles on a sub-road south of Wadi Hamid in Jeroud Arsal, which led to the destruction and killing of six elements.

On the other hand, a source in the Syrian opposition said that the battles that concentrated in the Syrian side of Jeroud Fleita are targeting Al-Nusra Front and FSA as well as the sites of ISIS.

Lebanese army forces are waiting for the situation, ready for any development in the battle, military sources said. The Lebanese army would conduct a planned-out operation in Jeroud Arsal and the government gives it freedom.

But there was no official announcement from the military on whether Lebanese troops were taking part in the fighting.

A military source confirmed that the Lebanese army had already targeted a group of gunmen tried to flee towards the town of Arsal, coming from Wadi al-Zaar in the hills of the town.

The Lebanese Minister of Communications Gamal Al-Jarrah stressed that the Lebanese Army will not be part of the battle taking place on the eastern border, pointing out that its spread is to prevent the infiltration of the militants into the town of Arsal.