Over the past 27 hours, Lebanese Army has killed more than 50 terrorists along with their ringleaders in Jrod Arsal north-east Lebanon during a military operation.
The operation also resulted in arresting 140 persons, 34 of them admitted that they were involved in fighting the Lebanese army and were preparing for terrorist acts against the army units in the area.
Well-informed sources told the Lebanese ‘al-Safir’ newspaper that the Lebanese army pressed ahead with implementing a military plan that required the mobilization of more than 5000 soldiers in Beqa’a area backed by heavy, long-range artillery and helicopter gunships which for the first time included Helfire missiles recently supplied by the US.
The Lebanese army has decided to tighten the grip on land crossings into Arsal, the sources said, adding that terrorist groups used explosive devices in the past two days because of the measures adopted by the army.
Additional protective measures will be considered by the Lebanese army in the ongoing fighting against terrorist groups.
Basma Qaddour