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Lebanese Army Assumes New Positions in Arsal Outskirts

Lebanese Army Assumes New Positions in Arsal Outskirts
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Taking positions previously held by militants, Lebanese Army units moved into additional areas on the outskirts of Arsal Tuesday.

Lebanese Army Assumes New Positions in Arsal Outskirts

A video and statement released by the Army showed armored troop carriers and units moving in to take positions around Wadi Hamid on the outskirts of Arsal. The positions were taken by Hezbollah from the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front late last month in a near week long offensive. The area is beyond the previous military cordon and is near to territory still occupied by the Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"].

The move comes as the Army prepares a ground offensive to drive Daesh from Lebanese territory.

"In the Wadi Hamid and Ajram areas, bombs and booby traps were found and military experts carried out a number of controlled explosions. The body of an unknown person was also found," a statement from the Army reported.

Earlier in the day, Lebanese Army artillery units targeted Daesh militant positions on the Lebanese border early Tuesday in the latest salvo of an almost daily bombardment.

The Daesh fire positions around north east Lebanon's Ras Baalbek were hit with artillery fire, the state-run National News Agency reported Tuesday.

The Army has been pounding militants along the border on a near daily basis for over two years, however, bombardments have been stepped up in recent weeks as the military prepares for a ground offensive against Daesh near Ras Baalbek and the adjacent al-Qaa.

The operation comes after a Hezbollah offensive near Arsal in July to drive out militants from the Nusra Front and Free Syrian Army affiliated militant group Saraya Ahl al-Sham.

The near week of fighting ended at the beginning of August with a negotiated settlement for Nusra gunmen and refugees who volunteered to leave Lebanon for Syria's Idlib.

Saraya Ahl al-Sham militants and their families left in a similar deal Monday afternoon for Syria's al-Ruhaibeh in eastern Qalamoun.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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