HEZBOLLAH CAPTURES STRATEGIC VALLEY FROM NUSRA JIHADIS

BEIRUT— The Islamist political party Hezbollah said its forces seized a strategic valley from Sunni Muslim militants on Monday, the latest advance in an offensive to oust jihadists from their last foothold along the Syria-Lebanon border.

The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah said it had advanced from several directions in the Wadi al-Kheil valley in Juroud Arsal, a barren mountainous border zone that had served as a base for militants linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State (IS).

The advance gave Hezbollah control over what had been “the most important base for Nusra Front” in the area, Hezbollah’s military media unit said in a statement.

The offensive, launched on Friday by Hezbollah and the Syrian army, has so far focused on militants from al-Qaida’s former Syria branch, previously called the Nusra Front.

Battle gains

Hezbollah has reported rapid advances against Nusra fighters. The next target will be territory held by IS militants, local media have reported.

The Syrian Army and Hezbollah recaptured the area around the town of Fleita on the Syrian side of the border on Sunday, said the Syrian state news agency Sana.

The offensive has so far killed 19 Hezbollah combatants and more than 130 Sunni militants, according to a security source.

Hezbollah has played a critical part in previous campaigns against Sunni insurgents along Lebanon’s border, part of its wider role backing President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s sixyear-old civil war.

Hezbollah’s role has been criticized by its Lebanese political opponents, including Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, who is a Sunni.

Last week, US congressional leaders introduced legislation seeking to increase sanctions against Hezbollah, accusing the powerful Shiite Muslim politi- cal group of violence in Syria and amassing rockets along Israel’s border.

The bill, an amendment to existing sanctions on the group, seeks to further restrict its ability to fundraise and recruit, penalize banks that do business with it and crack down on countries that support Hezbollah.

Among other things, it would bar anyone found to be supporting the group from entering the United States, require the president to report to Congress on whether Iranian financial institutions are facilitating its transactions and impose blocking sanctions on the group for criminal activities.