BAALBAK: The Lebanese Army pounded militant hideouts in the outskirts of Arsal overnight in some of the heaviest shelling of the area yet, security sources said Tuesday, suggesting that the increased tempo of the offensive might signal the beginning of a large-scale operation.
Heavy and long-range guns were used in the overnight shelling, which continued unabated until the early morning hours Tuesday, the sources told The Daily Star.
The intense pounding indicates that the Army might be paving the ground for a large-scale operation to tighten control on Arsal and its environs and uproot the militant fighters from their hideouts in the town’s outskirts, the sources said.
The militants, from the Nusra Front and ISIS, are holding 25 Lebanese soldiers and policemen captive in the porous border region after clashing with the Army inside the town of Arsal in August.
The Army has been reinforcing its positions in Arsal in the past two days, bringing in a large number of troops and heavy artillery, in another signal that they might be preparing a ground assault, the sources added.
The Army had also imposed a siege on the town’s outskirts, by blocking most roads leading to the area, leaving only two tightly controlled channels open to allow residents to move freely.
Meanwhile, two Lebanese citizens who were killed in Syrian airstrikes on the outskirts of Arsal Friday were identified as Mohammad Hussein al-Hujeiri and his son Yehya. The raid also wounded two people, Arsal resident Ali Mohammad al-Hujeiri and a Syrian refugee, the sources added.
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