Lebanese army block border against ISIL
The Lebanese army says it has launched an offensive against an ISIL enclave straddling the northeast border with Syria.
Simultaneously, Hezbollah and the Syrian army announced an assault from the Syria side of the border.
The Lebanese army was targeting positions of ISIL, or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, near the town of Ras Baalbek with rockets, artillery and helicopters, a Lebanese security source said.
It is the last part of the Lebanese-Syrian frontier under ISIL control.
"In the name of Lebanon, in the name of kidnapped Lebanese soldiers, in the name of martyrs of the army, I announce that [this] operation ... has started," said army chief General Joseph Aoun.
The Lebanese army says it is not coordinating with the Syrian army in its military operations.
They are hoping to push these armed groups out and that Lebanon will essentially secure its border completely, something which they haven't been able to do since the start of the Syrian conflict."
He said the area for the last few weeks had also been the site of a major military offensive which pushed out Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the group formerly known as al-Nusra Front.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun was following the army operation, called "Jroud Dawn". "Jroud" refers to the barren, mountainous border area between Lebanon and Syria.
Last month, the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah forced Jabhat Fateh al-Sham fighters and Syrian rebels to leave nearby border strongholds in a joint operation with the Syrian army.
The Lebanese army, a major recipient of US military aid, did not take part in the July operation, but it has been gearing up to assault the ISIL pocket in the same mountainous region. A military source said around 500 ISIL fighters were holed up in the enclave.
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