The Lebanese Army pounded jihadi hideouts on the outskirts of Arsal Tuesday, as fresh clashes erupted in the area between ISIS and Al-Qaeda's Nusra Front. A security source told The Daily Star that Army units located in the northeast region of Wadi Rafeq shelled jihadi positions deep in the outskirts, which comprise an area of around 400 square kilometers. Large numbers of ISIS and Nusra militants operate in the area, which is connected to the Qalamoun hills where Hezbollah and the Syrian Army have been carrying out a military campaign against jihadis for two weeks. The source said that Nusra and ISIS fighters engaged in sporadic clashes Tuesday, following similar fighting the previous day. Tensions between the jihadi rivals have soared in recent weeks, with the Nusra Front-led Army of Conquest declaring last week that it would "eradicate ISIS" from the region for harassing and attacking other Syrian rebel groups. On Monday, Hezbollah and Syrian troops pushed further into Qalamoun from south of the outskirts of Arsal, prompting the militants to flee north. According to Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV, the forces killed 10 jihadi militants and wounded 20 others Monday on the outskirts of the Syrian village of Flita. Monday's report also said that crossings between the outskirts of Arsal, Flita and the town of Jarajeer have all come under Hezbollah's firepower. Hezbollah and the Syrian army have seized control of most of Qalamoun's strategic hills in their offensive in the mountainous border region.
