Hezbollah and the Syrian army seized complete control of a barren region along Lebanon's eastern border Tuesday, Syrian state media reported, as helicopters pounded rebel targets holed up in central Zabadani.
State news agency SANA said the allied forces now control Sahel Zabadani, west of the main city. Scores of militants were killed in the battle to capture the area, the report added.
Separately, Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV said the allies began combing through the villages of Bakka and Madaya, and took control of the areas of Darb al-Kalasa, al-Rawda and Barada, all on Zabadani's southern outskirts.
The channel added that rebels holed up in central Zabadani were collapsing. A security source had told The Daily Star earlier in the day that Syrian army helicopters had dropper at least 12 barrel bombs on central Zabadani overnight Tuesday.
The source said that Hezbollah began mobilizing its fighters near the town of Serghaya, several kilometers north of Zabadani, adjacent to the Lebanese towns of Maarboun and Ham.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based activist group, said at least six rebels were killed in Tuesday's clashes.
Hezbollah and the Syrian army had tightened the noose around rebels in central Zabadani Monday.
A source close to Hezbollah had told The Daily Star that at least 11 militants were killed in Monday’s clashes, which saw intensified Syrian army airstrikes and shelling.
Hezbollah and the Syrian army have gained control over large parts of the town and its outskirts since launching an offensive to retake Zabadani from rebels at the start of the month.
Over the weekend, the allies seized territory in the Darb al-Sham plain near the besieged town. They killed 25 militants in ambushes, and lost three Syrian soldiers over the weekend and one Hezbollah fighter Friday, the same source said.
The capture of the town would add to Hezbollah’s recent victories in the Qalamoun mountain range since its offensive began in May.
The decision to launch the offensive in Zabadani came after negotiations with rebels failed to secure the militants’ withdrawal from the area, located 12 kilometers northeast of Lebanon’s Masnaa border crossing and about 25 kilometers northwest of Damascus.
