Beirut- The final preparations for the upcoming Lebanese Army battle against ISIS at the eastern borders with Syria have already been triggered after the completion of a swap deal between Nusra Front and “Hezbollah” and the deportation of Nusra militants from Jurud Arsal to Idlib.
On Saturday, the Lebanese Army intensely shelled ISIS positions in Jurud Ras Baalbek and Al-Kaa ahead of launching a military operation against the terrorist group, which observers said was just days away.
“Army units continued Saturday to target terrorist organizations in the area of Ras Baalbek, firing rocket and heavy artillery shells, destroying a number of fortifications and vehicles and causing definite casualties among terrorists," said a statement by the Army Command.
Therefore, the Army counts on the intense battle against ISIS to push the terrorist organization to reveal the fate of nine Lebanese soldiers kidnapped in 2014.
Also on Saturday, the war media of “Hezbollah” revealed the latest battle map of the Lebanese-Syrian border, showing positions controlled by each of the Lebanese Army, the Syrian forces and ISIS militants at the eastern borders.
“Our concern about the fate of the nine Lebanese soldiers constitutes the basic element in all what is currently happening. There should be a certain kind of pressure exerted on the terrorist organizations to reopen negotiations and release the soldiers,” Defense Minister Yaacoub Sarraf said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a military source told Reuters that the Lebanese army will not coordinate with the Syrian army to fight against ISIS in the Lebanese-Syrian border zone, rejecting a media report published by Al-Joumhuriya newspaper on Saturday saying that the Lebanese army has been coordinating the upcoming battle against ISIS in Ras Baalbek outskirts with Syrian regime military.
The source said the Lebanese army had the military capability to confront and defeat the group without any regional or international support.
