Lebanon's Hezbollah group said on Friday that its fighters have begun an operation against militants on both sides of the border with Syria.
Hezbollah's Al-Manar television and its "War Media" social media channels carried announcements of "the start of a military operation to purge Jurud Arsal and Qalamun of armed terrorists."
An artillery assault on a militant position in Jurud Arsal, a mountainous region on the border with Syria, picture released by the media office of Lebanon's Hezbollah, July 21, 2017. /VCG Photo
The operation has been anticipated for several weeks and comes after Lebanese soldiers carrying out raids on Syrian refugee camps in the area were met with suicide bombings and a grenade attack.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said "the Lebanese army will carry out a planned-out operation in Jurud Arsal and the government gives it freedom (to do so)."
Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri delivers a speech during the finance meeting to reconstruct Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, in Beirut, Lebanon, May 12, 2017. /VCG Photo
There was no official indication on Friday on whether Lebanese troops were involved in the fighting in the mountainous border region.
The official National News Agency also reported that Hezbollah fighters had launched an operation in Jurud Arsal.
An artillery assault on a militant position in Jurud Arsal, a mountainous region on the border with Syria, picture released by the media office of Lebanon's Hezbollah, July 21, 2017. /VCG Photo
The Shiite militant group has been fighting in Syria for years alongside embattled President Bashar Al-Assad's government troops against rebels.
The security situation in Arsal, which lies on the Lebanese side of the in-places ambiguously demarcated border, has long been a concern.
Lebanese security forces have come under attack in Arsal before and in 2014 jihadists kidnapped 30 soldiers and policemen after clashes in the area.
A picture released by the media office of Hezbollah on July 21, 2017 shows smoke billowing in Jurud Arsal. /VCG Photo
Four of the hostages were killed and a fifth died of his wounds, while 16 were eventually released in December 2015. Another nine hostages are still being held.
The latest incident in Arsal has created renewed tensions in a country of just four million people hosting more than one million Syrian refugees.
Around 45,000 Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations live in the town, but more are believed to be living in camps in the Jurud area, although their numbers have not been confirmed.
Hezbollah's advances in Syria have caused concern for Israel, which accuses its backers Iran of pursuing a broader agenda of staking out a permanent presence in the region, including creating a land route through Syria that would connect Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon.
(Source: AFP)
