Lebanon soldiers kill three militants near Syria border

Lebanon’s soldiers have killed three foreign-backed militants and wounded four others in a security operation near the border with Syria.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Lebanese military said it carried out the operation on the al-Makheirma hill outside the village of Ras Baalbek near the Lebanon-Syria border.

According to the statement, the operation aimed to “eliminate terrorists” and prevent them from targeting army outposts and civilians in Lebanon.

The statement added that a large number of weapons and ammunition was also destroyed during the operation.

The volatile region has seen regular incursions by the ISIL Takfiri terrorists and other militant groups currently fighting the government of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and ISIL overran the eastern Lebanese town of Arsal, situated about 124 kilometers (77 miles) northeast of the capital, Beirut, last August, killing and capturing more than three dozen soldiers and security forces. They have executed at least three of the hostages.

The Takfiri terrorists demand the release of a number of militants in Lebanese jails in exchange for the captive Lebanese soldiers and policemen.

Over the past months, Lebanon has been suffering from terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda-affiliated militants as well as random rocket attacks, which are viewed as a spillover of the conflict in Syria, where over 215,000 people have died in the past four years of turmoil.

JR/HSN/SS

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