BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army said it killed three ISIS militants and wounded four others in a dawn raid Tuesday on a strategic hill near the border with Syria, in the military’s latest pre-emptive attack against jihadis threatening to destabilize Lebanon. “A Lebanese Army force carried out at dawn today [Tuesday] a lightning and qualitative raid on terrorist groups on the Mkhairimeh hilltop in the highland of the town of Ras Baalbek, killing three terrorists and wounding four after clashing with them using all types of weapons,” the Army said in a statement.
According to the statement, the raid was staged after the military command had received information that “terrorist groups” were preparing logistics for combat operations on the hilltop, which overlooks Wadi Rafeq, where jihadis in the past have attempted to infiltrate Lebanon.
The Army said it also inflicted heavy damage on the militants’ weapons and equipment, including the destruction of two cannons, a number of heavy machine guns and other armored vehicles.
“The Army force returned to its position without suffering any casualties among its ranks,” the statement said.
“This raid comes as part of pre-emptive military operations carried out by Army units to destroy terrorist groups and prevent them from infiltrating to target Army outposts and attack citizens,” it added.
Mkhairimeh is opposite the Al-Jarash hilltop, which the Army seized from militants in a February attack.
A senior military official described the raid as “a very qualitative operation,” saying that Lebanese troops stormed the militants’ hideout on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek.
“The terrorists belong to ISIS. Today’s raid is part of the Army’s ongoing pre-emptive strikes against terrorism,” the official told The Daily Star.
Asked to comment on growing fears that ISIS and Nusra Front militants, entrenched in mountainous caves on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal, were preparing to launch a major offensive against Lebanon when the snow melts, he said: “With snow melting or not, the Army is fully prepared to confront terrorist groups anywhere and at any time.”The policy of pre-emptive strikes was put in place after eight soldiers, including an officer, were killed and 22 others were wounded in fierce clashes with ISIS militants on the outer edge of Ras Baalbek in January.
The Army has frequently clashed with Syria-based militants from ISIS and the Nusra Front. The two groups, which fought Lebanese troops in Arsal last August, are still holding 25 soldiers and policemen hostage after killing four of their captives.
Defense Minister Samir Moqbel met Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi with whom he discussed security developments in the country, particularly the Army’s raid on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek, in addition to the military institution’s needs, the National News Agency reported.
The French Defense Ministry had said it would begin shipping $3 billion worth of weapons paid for by Saudi Arabia to the Lebanese Army in April.
Under the deal first announced in 2013, France will supply armored vehicles, warships, attack helicopters, munitions and communication gear to the Lebanese military. The weapons are designed to bolster the Army’s capabilities in the battle against terrorism.
Kahwagi also met at his office in the Defense Ministry in Yarze with Gen. Michael Nagata, commander of special forces in U.S. Central Command, in the presence of U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale.
Discussions dealt with cooperation between the armies of the two countries, especially the training and equipping of the Lebanese Army’s special regiments, the NNA said.
Negata’s meeting with Kahwagi came a day after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed continued U.S. military assistance to help the Lebanese Army and security forces in the battle against terrorism.
“We continue to support the security services as they protect and preserve Lebanon’s security, stability, independence and sovereignty on behalf of all Lebanese,” Blinken said in a statement after holding talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam Monday. “Our security assistance – training, equipment, weapons, and ammunition – totals more than $1 billion over the past nine years.”
Meanwhile, General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said social security was essential for dealing with the threat of terrorism.
“Social security is the compulsory passage to any nonmilitary solution to the issue of terrorism, or any other security issue that leads to instability,” Ibrahim said in an editorial published in the monthly General Security magazine Tuesday.
“It is not enough to tell someone: ‘Beware falling into the abyss of terrorism or surrender to violence.’ You must convince him and help him understand this, and dry up the sources that attract him to this quagmire,” he added.
“Social security and economic security are related and both do not conflict with educational security, which will not be [organized] without a contemporary, realistic and objective writing of Lebanon’s history,” said Ibrahim, whose General Security personnel have thwarted a series of terrorist attacks by staging pre-emptive strikes against extremist cells.
When elements of social security are made available within society, Ibrahim said, “this will lead to calm and peace in relations among the people, and facilitates the security mission of both military and security forces, making them more effective and capable of ensuring stability and civil peace, and of protecting the country.”
“Achieving national security based on strong pillars and foundations begins with building a comprehensive national security strategy ... that would take into consideration contemporary regional and international challenges and threats,” Ibrahim added.
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