Hezbollah and the Syrian army captured a hilltop position and a strategic crossing outside a northern Qalamoun town Wednesday, Al-Manar reported. The Hezbollah-run channel said the allied forces took over Qirnat Wadi al-Maghara in the outskirts of government-held Jarajeer. The latest gain has allowed regime forces and their Lebanese allies to wrest full control over the Wadi al-Maghara crossing, which links the Qalamoun town to Lebanese territory. Hezbollah and the Syrian army have been battling militants in the Qalamoun region since May 4. Earlier this month, Hezbollah advanced into Arsal's outskirts from the south and east, tightening the noose around Nusra Front militants encamped in the area. North of Arsal, Hezbollah is engaged in fighting with ISIS for control of the outskirts of Ras Baalbek, a Lebanese Christian border town. After taking over the Syrian town of Flita, Hezbollah and the Syrian army launched an offensive to take the outskirts of Jarajeer, which is south of Flita and southeast of Arsal. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army bombarded militant hideouts on the outskirts of Arsal and Ras Baalbek Wednesday, in a bid to secure the volatile area from the threat of Syrian rebels. Security sources said that soldiers used heavy artillery to fire on suspected militant positions in the outskirts of the two towns. The Army has maintained a near-daily pattern of attacking militant positions on the outskirts of Arsal and Ras Baalbek in a bid to discourage any further attacks, vowing to eradicate terrorism from Lebanon.
