Lebanese artillerymen Thursday hammered jihadi positions along the northeastern border with Syria as part of their daily routine to prevent possible attacks by Islamist militants.
The policy of preemptive shelling was put in place after eight soldiers, including an officer, were killed and 22 others were wounded in fierce clashes with ISIS militants on the outer edge of Ras Baalbek in January.
Since then, the army has maintained a near-daily pattern of pounding jihadi positions on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek, a village nestled along the barren mountainside embracing the Bekaa Valley, for about 10-15 minutes every few hours.
But the army has stepped up shelling in recent days amid the Hezbollah and Syrian army offensive to oust militants from the border Qalamoun region.
For more than two weeks, the allies have been capturing hill after hill, chasing jihadis north toward the outskirts of Arsal and Ras Baalbek.
