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*</s>Lebanon army advances against ISIL in border battle and has recaptured two thirds of the territory, says military.

A mine blast killed three Lebanese soldiers on Sunday as they were heading to take part in an offensive against ISIL along the border with Syria, the army said.

Lebanon's army began its operation in the Ras Baalbek and Qaa region early on Saturday, and has already recaptured two thirds of the territory in the area, the military said.

The retaken area covers about 80 square kilometres once controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, the army said.

But an army source warned on Sunday that ousting ISIL from the rest of the territory would be tough.

"The toughest battle will be to retake the remaining 40 percent because it is there that Daesh fighters are gathered. Nevertheless the army is ready," said the source, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.

The soldiers killed on Sunday were on their way to join the offensive to oust ISIL, the military said in a statement.

"An army vehicle was hit by a landmine on the Al-Najsa road roundabout in Jurud Arsal at noon today, killing three soldiers and injuring one soldier seriously," it read.

The statement said the wounded soldier was evacuated to hospital.

The battle against ISIL is being fought further north from Jurud Arsal, along the border with Syria.

The army also said soldiers blew up an explosives-packed car and a booby-trapped motorcycle carrying would-be suicide bombers in Ras Baalbek, preventing an attack on the troops.

Lebanon's battle against ISIL comes as the group faces assaults in both neighbouring Syria and Iraq, where the government early on Sunday announced an offensive on the group's bastion of Tal Afar.

On Sunday, Lebanon's National News Agency reported soldiers used heavy artillery and rockets against ISIL positions in Jurud Ras Baalbek.

At least 20 ISIL fighters have been killed in clashes since the army unleashed its operation on Saturday, and 10 soldiers wounded, military spokesman Brigadier General Nazih Jreij said.

He said on the first day of the offensive that the army had captured around 30 square kms of territory.

The army says around 600 ISIL fighters were deployed in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas and controlled around 120 square kms of territory before the latest advances.

The offensive comes after Lebanon's powerful Shia group Hezbollah waged a six-day assault against ISIL and al-Qaeda's former affiliate in the Jurud Arsal area.

The operation ended with a ceasefire that saw around 8,000 refugees and fighters transported to a rebel-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters.

On Saturday, Hezbollah said it launched an operation against ISIL from the Syrian side of the border, where its fighters are battling alongside President Bashar al-Assad's army against rebels.

The Lebanese army denied any coordination with Hezbollah or the Syrian army.

Hezbollah's War Media outlet said its fighters and Syrian troops had "managed to liberate 87 square kilometres of the total area controlled by the Daesh organisation... in western Qalamun region" of Syria on Saturday alone.

On Sunday, the SITE Intelligence Group reported an ISIL claim that the group had killed "nearly 100 Lebanese soldiers and Hezbollah fighters amidst clashes in western Qalamun".

Security along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria has long been a concern, and in 2014 ISIL and the Nusra Front group invaded the town of Arsal and kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen.

Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds.

Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine solders are believed to remain in ISIL hands, their fate unknown.

 

The army offensive against ISIL also comes after the group claimed several international attacks, including twin car ramming incidents in Spain that killed 14 people.

Lebanese soldiers raised the Spanish flag on a hilltop captured from ISIL on Saturday in a tribute to the victims of those attacks, the army said.</s>In a display of solidarity after Thursday's Barcelona attack, Lebanese soldiers raised a Spanish flag alongside their own on a Syrian-Lebanese border hill seized from the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).

Lebanese military launched its operation in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa region early on Saturday on the country’s eastern border with Syria, AFP reported.

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They seized around 11 square miles of territory, around a third of the area formerly controlled by the militant group, a military spokesman told the agency.

Pictures released by the Lebanese military show soldiers raising a Spanish flag alongside a Lebanese flag, in solidarity with Spain, after ISIS claimed responsibility for attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils in which 14 people were killed.

The Lebanese military said that 20 ISIS militants were killed in the military operation, and 10 of their own soldiers were wounded.

Lebanese media reported that the military operation was continuing Sunday, with artillery bombarding ISIS positions in Jurud Ras Baalbek.

Earlier on Saturday, Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah launched its own campaign against ISIS positions south of the area. The group has fought alongside the military forces of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad against ISIS and rebel groups in Syria.

In recent month ISIS has lost significant amounts of territory in Iraq and Syria, including its Iraqi base of operations Mosul following a U.S. backed operation by Iraqi government forces.

Lebanese forces have sought to bolster security along their eastern border following the ISIS attack on the town on Arsal in 2014, in which five soldiers and police were killed or executed and 30 kidnapped.

Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap deal in 2015, with an estimated nine thought to remain in captivity.</s>BEIRUT — Lebanon’s U.S.-backed army on Saturday launched its biggest military operation yet against Islamic State militants who in 2014 gained a foothold along the tiny Mediterranean country’s border with Syria.

The long-awaited campaign aims to defeat IS in the group’s border enclave and put an end to a terror threat that has loomed over Lebanon.

By the late afternoon Saturday, the army said it captured 30 square kilometres and killed 20 IS militants. It said 10 Lebanese soldiers were wounded.

Simultaneously, the Syrian army and its ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, are pushing to clear IS militants from the Syrian side of the border, in the western Qalamoun mountain range. Hezbollah has been fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces in Syria since 2013.

Lebanon denies it is co-ordinating its offensive with the Syrian government.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun called field commanders from the Defence Ministry where he was monitoring operations early to tell them, “You will not disappoint us,” and “Our hearts and minds are with you,” according to video broadcast on TV channels across the country.

Operations commenced before dawn, with the military striking IS positions in the eastern border areas with Syria, Brig. Gen. Ali Qanso said at the Defence Ministry, warning of a difficult battle ahead.

The barren hills in eastern Lebanon will leave infantry exposed to IS snipers, and the militants are expected to mine the area on a vast scale.
• ISIS urges jihadists to attack Canadians: ‘You will not feel secure in your bedrooms’

According to Central Military Media, a media outlet run jointly by Hezbollah and the Syrian army, a group of IS militants, including a self-styled “emir” or local commander, surrendered to the advancing Hezbollah and Syrian forces by midday in the Qalamoun region in Syria.

Qanso insisted the Lebanese army was not co-ordinating its moves with Assad’s forces or the Hezbollah fighters — a potential embarrassment for Washington, should its ally, the Lebanese military be working closely with a group that the United States has classifies as a terror organization.

The U.S. is a key patron of the Lebanese army, and top Pentagon officials visited Lebanon in the run-up to the operation.

However, Hezbollah ministers hold key portfolios in the Lebanese government, and the country is now accustomed to seeing the militant group run operations in parallel with the army.

The presence of militants in the Lebanese border area has exposed towns and villages there to shelling and kidnappings for ransom. Car bombs are made in the area and sent to other parts of the country, including the Lebanese capital, Beirut, killing scores of people.

The army has in the past year slowly clawed back border territory, including strategic hills retaken in the past week.

Lebanon has been spared the wars and chaos that engulfed several countries in the region since the so-called Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. But it has seen sectarian infighting and random car bombings, particularly in 2014, when militants linked to al-Qaida and IS overran the border region, kidnapping Lebanese soldiers.

Qanso said the army had no new information about the whereabouts of the soldiers kidnapped by IS militants.

Lebanese politicians say IS controls an area of about 300 square kilometres between Syria and Lebanon, around half of which is in Lebanon.

About 600 jihadis, including snipers, are holed up in the Lebanese portion of the enclave, according to Qanso, armed with guided rockets, anti-armour rockets, mortars, and other weaponry.

The area stretches from the Lebanese town of Arsal, and Christian villages of Ras Baalbek and Qaa, to the outskirts of Syria’s Qalamoun region and parts of the western Syrian town of Qusair, which Hezbollah captured in 2013.</s>The operation follows one by Shiite militant group Hezbollah last month against jihadists

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanese troops launched an offensive against the Islamic State (ISIS) group on Saturday, August 19, close to the Syrian border where the jihadists have been active for several years.

The operation follows one by Shiite militant group Hezbollah last month against jihadists in another border area further south. (READ: Who's who in the Syria conflict)

Hezbollah is deeply embroiled in the civil war that has raged in neighboring Syria since 2011, fighting in support of President Basher al-Sad's regime.

The Lebanese army has sought to keep out of the conflict but has been forced to take action since jihadists of ISIS and then Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nassau Front assaulted the border town of Arras in 2014 and abducted 30 soldiers and police.

"In the name of Lebanon, in the name of kidnapped Lebanese soldiers, in the name of martyrs of the army, I announce that operation 'Dawn of Jury' has started," army chief General Joseph Noun said Saturday.

He was referring to two mountainous border areas – Jury Rasa Balked and Jury al-Qua – where ISIS has been active. (READ: ISIS territory shrinks 12% since start of 2016 – British think-tank)

"The army is confronting the Daesh terrorists to chase them out and recover territory," army spokesman General Ail Kansas said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS. "We have no fear of Daesh."

Kansas said the army believed there were around 600 ISIS fighters in the two areas, controlling some 120 square kilometers of territory.

Hezbollah said it had launched a simultaneous operation against the jihadists from the Syrian side of the border but the army spokesman denied there had been any coordination.

Nine Lebanese soldiers captured during the 2014 raid are believed to remain in the hands of the jihadists.

Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds. Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015.

Last month, Hezbollah carried out a 6-day offensive against ISIS and Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in the Jury Arras district further south. (READ: Who's who in the fight against the Islamic State group)

It ended with a ceasefire under which nearly 8,000 refugees and jihadists were transported to a jihadist-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters.

The evacuations were completed on Monday, August 14.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed earlier this month to clear the whole border area of jihadists, saying it was in the interests of both Lebanon and Syria.

Lebanon, a country of some 4 million people, hosts more than a million Syrian refugees. – Rappler.com</s>Lebanon's battle against ISIS comes as the jihadist group faces assaults in both neighboring Syria and Iraq

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanese soldiers renewed fire on Islamic State (ISIS) group positions on the country's eastern border with Syria on Sunday, August 20, after capturing a third of the territory held by jihadists in the area.

Lebanon's army began its operation in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa region early on Saturday, August 19, and in the first day captured around 30 square kilometers (11 miles square) of territory, a military spokesman said.

"That is around a third of the area controlled by the terrorists," Brigadier General Nazih Jreij said late Saturday.

Jreij said 20 ISIS fighters had been killed in the clashes, and 10 Lebanese soldiers wounded.

Lebanon's battle against ISIS comes as the jihadist group faces assaults in both neighboring Syria and Iraq, where the government early Sunday announced an offensive on the group's bastion of Tal Afar.

The attack also comes after ISIS claimed several international attacks, including twin car ramming incidents in Spain that killed 14 people.

Lebanese soldiers raised the Spanish flag on a hilltop captured from ISIS on Saturday in a tribute to the victims of those attacks, the army said.

Lebanon's military estimated around 600 ISIS fighters were present in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas, controlling around 120 square kilometres of territory before Saturday's advances.

On Sunday, Lebanon's National News Agency reported soldiers were firing heavy artillery and rockets at ISIS positions in Jurud Ras Baalbek.

The army's assault comes after Lebanon's powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah waged its own campaign against jihadists operating in another border area south of the current battle.

The group's 6-day offensive against ISIS and Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in the Jurud Arsal area ended with a ceasefire.

The agreement saw around 8,000 refugees and jihadists transported to a jihadist-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters.

Hezbollah said Saturday it had launched a simultaneous operation against ISIS from the Syrian side of the border, where the group's fighters are battling alongside President Bashar al-Assad's army against rebels.

Lebanon's army denied any coordination with Hezbollah or the Syrian army.

Hezbollah's War Media outlet said its fighters and the Syrian army had on Saturday "managed to liberate 87 square kilometers of the total area controlled by the Daesh (IS) organization... in western Qalamun region" of Syria.

Security along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria has long been a concern, and in 2014 jihadists invaded the town of Arsal and kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and police.

Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds.

Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine solders are believed to remain in ISIS hands.

It is not clear if they are alive or not. – Rappler.com</s>Lebanese army chief, General Joseph Aoun announced on Saturday the start of an operation against Takfiri ISIL group near the Syrian border in the outskirts of Al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek.

“In the name of Lebanon, in the name of kidnapped Lebanese soldiers, in the name of martyrs of the army, I announce the launch of ‘Fajr al-Joroud Operation’ in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa (towns),” General Aoun said in a statement.

Al-Manar correspondent said that as soon as General Aoun announced that the offensive has started, the Lebanese army artillery pounded ISIL positions in the outskirts of the two towns.

Local media also reported that shortly after the announcement, President Michel Aoun arrived at the Defense Ministry in Yarze east of Beirut to follow up on the operation.

Hezbollah announced on Saturday the start of an anti-ISIL operation in Western Qalamoun, near the border with Lebanon.

The operation coincides with the offensive launched by the Lebanese army against the Takfiri group near the border with Syria. It is aimed at the Lebanese army in the battle against terrorists.

In a statement released by Hezbollah’s Military Media Center, the Islamic Resistance announced the start of the operation:

“ In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Victory cometh only from Allah, the Mighty, the Wise (Al-Isra’- 8)

Keeping our promise of wiping out terrorism which has been threatening our country, the Islamic Resistance alongside with the Syrian Arab Army, have kicked off ‘If You revert, We Shall Revert’ Operation to liberate Western Qalamoun barrens from ISIL terrorists.”

On Friday, Hezbollah fighters captured Sha’abat Yuness heights, Harf Wadi al-Dib, Sha’abat al-Mahbas, al-Awlah, Harf al-Hasheshat and Qurnat al-hasheshat between Jurod al-Jarajir and Jurod Asral on the Syrian-Lebanese border, according to the Hezbollah media wing in Syria.

Moreover, Syrian warplanes conducted over 20 airstrikes on ISIS positions and fortifications in Qarnat al-Shlube, Mira and Martabiah crossings, and al-Zamrani area in Jurod Qarah and al-Jarajir in Western Qalamoun.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army Intelligence discovered a large weapons and ammunition cache left behind by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Wadi Humaid area in Jurod Arsal. The sized weapons and ammunition included many MILAN and Malyutka anti-tank guided missiles and dozens of M79 Osa and RGPG-29 rounds.

So far, ISIS-linked news agencies have not mentioned anything about the situation on the Syrian-Lebanese border. Furthermore, ISIS fighters have not launched any attack against Lebanese forces so far.

This may mean that the rela number of ISIS members in the border area is much less than it has been expected.

The Lebanese Army is still preparing to launch its own attack on ISIS in Ras Balbak and Jurod Al-Qa’a. Many reports, claimed that Lebanese Army soldiers are now under training by US Special Operation Forces service members.</s>ISIS militants are being systematically cleared from the Syrian side of the border, in the western Qalamoun mountain range, as the terrorists lose their grip on the Middle Eastern country. The Lebanese Hezbollah group and the Syrian army also announced their simultaneous offensives to clear the evil jihadis from the country, separate from Beirut’s anti-ISIS efforts. The campaign, which involves cooperation between the two sides, aims to stop the spread of ISIS, who have targeted the Lebanese capital, Beirut, with car bombs. The Lebanese authorities insist they are not coordinating with Syrian President Bahar Assad, despite Hezbollah fighting alongside his forces since 2013.

Dramatic footage released from the efforts to clear the final pockets of ISIS militants from the border shows two jihadis being obliterated by an airstrike. The video, which is unverified, shows two terrorists standing close together under the watch of aerial surveillance from the Lebanese government fighters. They are then engulfed in a cloud of dust, presumed dead, after an airstrike lands directly on top of them leaving them with little chance of survival. The Lebanese army has denied any involvement in the separate operation featuring Hezbollah fighters because it would jeopardise their US foreign aid as Washington considers Hezbollah a terrorist group.

Lebanese army general Ali Kanso said: “There is no coordination, no with Hezbollah or the Syrian army. “It’s the most difficult battle waged so far by the Lebanese army against terrorist groups – the nature of the terrain and enemy.” He added the 600 ISIS fighters in the area are all seen as potential “suicide bombers” by Beirut.

Lebanese politicians say ISIS control an area of around 115 square miles between two countries, half of which is in Lebanon. The terrorists’ grip stretches from the Lebanese town of Arsal and villages of Ras Baalbek and Qaa, to the outskirts of Syria’s Qalamoun region and parts of the western Syrian town of Qusair. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a recent speech, said the Lebanese army would attack ISIS from its side of the border, while his organisation and the Syrian army lead the assault from the other side.</s>BEIRUT: The Lebanese army declared on Saturday that it had launched an offensive against an Islamic State enclave straddling the northeast border with Syria, a Lebanese security source said.

The army was targeting Islamic State positions near the town of Ras Baalbek with rockets, artillery and helicopters, the source said. It is the last part of the Lebanese-Syrian frontier under insurgent control.</s>Three Lebanese soldiers were killed Sunday when a mine exploded under their vehicle in the east of the country along the border with Syria, the army said in a statement.

The soldiers were en route to participate in an operation that began Saturday to oust Islamic State group militants from an area further north on the border, an army source told AFP.

“An army vehicle was hit by a landmine on the Al-Najsa road roundabout in Jurud Arsal at noon today, killing three soldiers and injuring one soldier seriously,” the army said in a statement.

It said the wounded soldier was evacuated to a hospital for treatment.

The incident comes a day after the army began an operation against IS in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas, further north along the Lebanon-Syria border.

The army said late Saturday its forces have so far captured around 30 square kilometres (11 miles square) of the 120 square kilometres IS is believed to hold in the area.

A spokesman said Saturday that 20 IS fighters had been killed in the clashes so far, and 10 Lebanese soldiers had been wounded. The army estimates there are around 600 IS fighters in the areas it is battling to capture.

The army’s assault comes after Lebanon’s powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah waged its own campaign against jihadists in Jurud Arsal. That six-day offensive against Al-Qaeda’s former affiliate ended with a ceasefire deal.

The agreement saw around 8,000 refugees and militants transported to a jihadist-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters.

Security along Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria has long been a concern, and in 2014 jihadists invaded the border town of Arsal and kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and police.

Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds. Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine solders are believed to remain in IS hands.
The Lebanese Armed Forces launches operation Fajr al-Joroud, and on the first day recaptures 30 km of territory near the Lebanon–Syria border formerly occupied by ISIS militants. Twenty ISIS militants were killed and 10 Lebanese soldiers were wounded.