The Lebanese army launched an attack from the area of Ras-Sarj, advancing to the terrorists gatherings and besieging all the hills of the eastern mountain range on Arsal outskirts, NNA reported.
The Lebanese army launched an attack from the area of Ras-Sarj, advancing to the terrorists gatherings and besieging all the hillsof the eastern mountain range on Arsal outskirts, NNA reported.
Heavy fighting raged in the mountains around the Lebanese northeastern border town of Arsal on Monday for the third day, as an army intervention regiment unit enters the town and chases gunmen under fire coverage.
Al-Manar correspondent reported that army destroyed a gathering of terrorists' vehicles in outskirts of Arsal. Thick smoke rose from Arsal after a petrol station in the town was set ablaze.
"Gunmen executed the citizen Hassan Hussein Al-Hujeiri and two of his sons before they were to leave Rass Al-Sarj area of Arsal, Al-Manar reporter added.
The terrorists in Arsal also killed the Lebanese national Mohammad Qassem al-Hujairi as well as a woman and her infant.
The army said in a statement Sunday that its units used heavy weapons to target the positions of the gunmen, leaving several soldiers killed and wounded, in addition to seizing full control over the technical school.
Later on Monday, army told reporters and media personnel to leave Arsal for security reasons following the arrival of heavy enforcement to the region.
Army also called the 5th, 6th and 8th brigades, as well as Battalion 85, commandos and airborne units to Arsal, threatening a harsh battle to defeat the gunmen occupying the area.
Cracks of heavy gunfire and the thud of shells could be heard from a distance as tanks pounded terrorists positions in and around Arsal. A dozen Lebanese army flatbed trucks were seen carrying tanks toward the outskirts of Arsal on Monday.
In the early hours of Monday morning, several hundred people fled the town during a lull in the fighting. However, the army prevented Syrians from leaving Arsal.
The National News Agency reported on Monday that the gunmen were preventing residents from fleeing the town, noting that they were being used as human shields.
Military sources also told reporters that the army regained control of al-Khazzan area and al-Hosn.
In a different context, the terrorists also launched 3 rockets onto the towns of al-Labwah and Nabi Othman, causing only materialistic losses.
The clashes began after the arrest of a Syrian man accused of belonging to al-Qaeda's Syrian branch Al-Nusra Front.
Following his arrest, gunmen surrounded army posts before opening fire in a deliberate terrorist operation, sparking clashes that have killed at least 10 soldiers.
The violence is the worst in the area since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011.
The town is hosting tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, and Qahwaji said Sunday that some of the gunmen had emerged from the informal refugee camps in the area.
