No co-ordination between armies

BEIRUT: The Lebanese army will not co-ordinate with the Syrian army to fight against Islamic State in the Lebanese-syrian border zone, a military source said yesterday, rejecting a local media report of direct military co-operation between the two.

The source said the Lebanese army had the military capability to defeat the group without any support.

The presence of IS and Nusra Front militants in pockets on Lebanon’s border is the biggest military spillover from Syria’s civil war.

An offensive launched last month by Lebanon’s Hezbollah – an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-assad – forced Nusra Front militants to leave for a rebel-held area in north-west Syria in an evacuation deal.

The Lebanese army did not take part in that offensive, but has been expected to lead an attack against the IS pocket.

On Friday, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said an assault on IS militants in the border zone would begin in a few days.

He said the Lebanese army would attack IS from the Lebanese side while Hezbollah and the Syrian army would simultaneously attack from the Syrian side.

Hezbollah has been fighting alongside the Syrian army against rebels including hardline Sunni Islamists in Syria.

Yesterday, Lebanese newspaper al-joumhouria reported from sources that direct military co-ordination had occurred between the Syrian and Lebanese armies regarding the upcoming offensive.

The source said the Lebanese army had been attacking IS for some time, by preventing it spreading further and cutting supply routes.

Lebanese state news agency NNA and a Hezbollah media unit said yesterday the Lebanese army had shelled IS positions in the Ras Baalbek and al-qaa areas of north-east Lebanon. – Reuters