Lebanese President Takes Part in Army Northern Operation on Arsal Outskirts

Local Editor

Lebanese President Michel Aoun took part in the Army's operations against militant groups entrenched on the outskirts of Lebanon's northeastern border town of Arsal.

Aoun arrived at the Defense Ministry in Yarze late Wednesday where he met with Army Commander General Joseph Aoun.

The two officials discussed the conditions of the military institution, its missions and various needs, according to a statement released by Aoun's press office.

The president and army chief, accompanied by Defense Minister Yaacoub Sarraf, then headed to the Command Operations Room, where the president was briefed on the army's deployment along the country's northeastern border.

The president followed up on an army operation in the outskirts of Arsal and Ras Baalback from the main operations room located at the Defense Ministry through live video streaming.

Artillery shelling by the Lebanese Army targeted cars carrying senior members of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham – formerly the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front – on the outskirts of Arsal.

Army shelling and Helicopter bombardments hit positions belonging to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri ‘ISIS/ISIL’ group] around Arsal and Ras Baalbeck, making a number of direct hits.

There were no immediate details of who was in the cars at the time of the strike or if there were any casualties, simply identifying them as senior members of Jabat Fatah al-Sham.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team