The outskirts of a northeastern Lebanese border town are set to witness fierce battles between Hezbollah and ISIS (Daesh), according to a report published Sunday in Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas.
Sources from the northern Bekaa Valley indicated that the “nature of reinforcements” that have arrived to areas surrounding Ras Baalbek recently signal an impeding battle between the party and the extremist group in the coming days.
The “reinforcements,” according to the report, consist of rockets and heavy artillery that have been dispatched to the area recently.
Al-Qabas also noted that Hezbollah is completing “field preparations” in the area ahead of the imminent clash.
The party has intensified its attacks on ISIS in Ras Baalbek after it repelled a militant attack earlier this month, sparking a battle that killed eight Hezbollah fighters and around 50 ISIS militants. It was the most serious border confrontation between the two groups since Hezbollah entered the fighting in Syria three years ago.
Hezbollah and the Syrian army have been battling ISIS and Nusra Front fighters in the Qalamoun region along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria since early last month.
The allied forces have captured about two-thirds of the rugged border region from the militants since launching the offensive on May 4. Militants are now mostly holed up in northern Qalamoun, on the eastern outskirts of Arsal and Ras Baalbek.
Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah vowed to oust ISIS from northeastern Lebanon in a speech delivered earlier this month.
