Army gears up for fight
Lebanese military readies to eject Islamic State from area bordering Syria
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s U.S.backed military is gearing up for a long-awaited assault to dislodge hundreds of Islamic State militants from a remote corner near Syrian border, seeking to end a years-long threat posed to neighbouring towns and villages by the extremists.
The campaign will involve cooperation with the militant group Hezbollah and the Syrian army on the other side of the border — although Lebanese authorities insist they are not co-ordinating with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government.
The assault could prove costly for the under-equipped military and risk activating Islamic State sleeper cells in the country.
The tiny Mediterranean nation has been spared the wars and chaos that engulfed several countries in the region since the so-called Arab Spring uprisings erupted in 2011. But it has not been able to evade threats to its security, including sectarian infighting and random car bombings, particularly in 2014, when militants linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State overran the border region, kidnapping Lebanese soldiers.
The years-long presence of extremists in the border area has brought suffering to neighbouring towns and villages, from shelling to the kidnappings of villagers for ransom. Car bombs made in the area and sent to other parts of the country, including the Lebanese capital, Beirut, have killed scores of citizens.
Aided directly by the U.S. and Britain, the army has accumulated steady successes against the militants in the past year, slowly clawing back territory. Authorities say it’s time for an all-out assault.
The planned operation follows a six-day military offensive by the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah that forced al-Qaidalinked fighters to flee the area on the outskirts of the town of Arsal, along with thousands of civilians.
In a clear distribution of roles, the army is now expected to launch the attack on Islamic State. In the past few days, the army’s artillery shells and multiple rocket launchers have been pounding the mountainous areas on the Lebanon-Syria border where Islamic State held positions, in preparation for the offensive. Drones could be heard around the clock and residents of the eastern Bekaa Valley reported seeing army reinforcements arriving daily in the northeastern district of Hermel to join the battle.
On Tuesday, the army’s top brass conferred with President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and interior and defence ministers at the Presidential Palace to plan operations in the eastern Bekaa Valley.
The committee took the “necessary counsel and decisions to succeed in the military operations to eliminate the terrorists,” Maj. Gen. Saadallah Hamad said after the meeting.
Experts say more than 3,000 troops, including elite special forces, are in the northeastern corner of Lebanon to take part in the offensive. The army will likely use weapons it received from the U.S., including Cessna aircraft that discharge Hellfire missiles.
According to Lebanon’s Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, there are about 400 Islamic State fighters in the Lebanese area, and hundreds more on the Syrian side.
“It is not going to be a picnic,” said Hisham Jaber, a retired army general who heads the Middle East Center for Studies and Political Research in Beirut. “The Lebanese army will try to carry out the mission with the least possible losses.”
Jaber said the battle may last several weeks. “It is a rugged area and the organization (Islamic State) is well armed and experienced.”
Lebanese politicians say Islamic State controls an area of about 296 sq. km between the two countries, of which 141 sq. km are in Lebanon.