The Lebanese army killed three militants on the northeastern border with Syria Thursday, while a joint Army-General Security raid found an explosive belt stashed in the home of a suspect already in state custody. An Army statement said that Lebanese troops shelled militants traversing through the outskirts of Wadi Hmeid in Arsal, slaying three. Speaking to The Daily Star, a senior Army source said that troops monitored the rebels as they were pushed from one position to next. "They took their time and chose the opportune moment to strike," the source said. Thursday's engagement is the latest in a series of clashes between the Army and militants stationed on the rugged outskirts of Arsal. Ever since the release of servicemen held hostage by the Nusra Front earlier this month, the Army has shelled rebel positions on an increasing level on the northeastern border. Tuesday, the Lebanese Army said it used a guided missile to hit a ISIS convoy in the area of Khirbet Daoud, on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek, killing four militants, including a field commander. Meanwhile, a joint Army General Security force recovered an explosive belt from the home of a man who is already in custody during a raid in the northern border village of Al-Rama, according to the National News Agency. Security forces raided the home of B.A., who had been arrested by General Security on suspicion of maintaining ties to an extremist militant group. Explosives experts arrived on the scene and defusedthe device. The raid comes as state security forces continue their crackdown on extremist militants in the wake of a double suicide bombing which rocked the Beirut southern suburb of Burj al-Barajneh last month, killing 47 people and wounding over 200. Claimed by ISIS, the blast was the first to target the suburbs, where Hezbollah enjoys wide support, in more than one year.
