Seven Hezbollah fighters were killed over the past 24 hours in Syrian rebel attacks on the group's positions near the embattled Syrian border town of Zabadani, a security source told The Daily Star Friday. Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV also reported the attacks, saying about 200 rebels targeted Hezbollah positions Thursday on the eastern outskirts of Zabadani. The station did not report any casualties. The report said Hezbollah, along with the Syrian army, launched a counterattack, killing 20 rebels and leaving another 30 wounded. A source revealed to The Daily Star that five Hezbollah fighters were killed Thursday and another two Friday. The Hezbollah and Syrian army offensive in Zabadani is considered an attempt by the allies to bolster their control of land routes between Lebanon and Syria and sever rebel supply lines. Zabadani also bears strategic significance for Hezbollah since it once served as a logistical hub for supplying the party with Iranian weapons. It also served as a base for Hezbollah fighters and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The town is located 50 kilometers northwest of Damascus and 12 kilometers northeast of Lebanon's Masnaa border crossing. The Syrian army and Hezbollah began the Zabadani operation in early July and are advancing cautiously in the town because it is heavily booby-trapped. Two separate cease-fires between the Syrian army and Hezbollah on one side and the rebels on the other collapsed in August. The truce was aimed at reaching an agreement under which Syrian opposition fighters would evacuate Zabadani in return for rebels, currently besieging Kefraya and Foua in the northwestern province of Idlib, allowing residents of the two Shiite villages to leave.
