BEIRUT: The Nusra Front announced Sunday that it is training its fighters in the use of anti-tank weapons in Syria's Qalamoun mountain range, ahead of a highly anticipated battle with Hezbollah and the Syrian army. A Nusra Front-affiliated Twitter page was inundated with pictures of military training operations reportedly in Syria's Qalamoun region. One picture showed at least 12 fighters gathered around one anti-tank missle launcher. "Training the Mujahideen on the use of anti-tank warheads in Nusra Front's training camps in the Qalamoun Mountains," read the caption to the photo. Two other similar photos were posted showing fighters handling the warheads. Another picture showed a Nusra Front tank surrounded by several armed militants. "Mujahideen training on all types of weapons in training camps," read the caption. "They are almost ready to free their villages." The announcement comes as Hezbollah is reportedly mobilizing its fighters for a much-anticipated offensive against Islamist militants, namely ISIS and the Nusra Front, entrenched in Syria's Qalamoun region. Elements of ISIS, the Nusra Front and other Syrian rebel groups have been fighting each other and against forces allied to the Syrian government in the Qalamoun mountain range over the past two years. In October, Nusra fighters in Qalamoun launched a surprise attack on Hezbollah posts on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese towns of Brital and Nahle, killing eight. The Lebanese Army has also clashed intermittently with Qalamoun-based rebels along Lebanon's eastern border. Earlier Sunday, Speaker Nabih Berri said he supported Hezbollah's forthcoming battle in Qalamoun, describing the impending fighting as an attempt by the resistance to liberate Lebanese lands. "The [militants] have wrested control over roughly 600 square kilometers of land on the outskirts of Arsal and other areas," a report published by Al-Hayat Sunday quoted the Speaker as saying. "And as long as there is an occupation of Lebanese land then I support the [efforts] of the resistance to liberate it."
