Dozens of fighters were reportedly killed today in the eastern Lebanese town of Nabi Sbat, when Hezbollah clashed with fighters of al-Qaeda’s al-Nusra Front factions.
The tiny town in the hills outside of Baalbek saw hours of fighting, with Hezbollah reporting five of its fighters slain, and dozens of the Nusra killed in the process. Locals reported large numbers of wounded on both sides.
Al-Nusra has pushed into Lebanon from Syria several times in the past few weeks, but mostly targeting the town of Arsal, further to the north. A brief exchange of fire between Nusra and the Lebanese military was reported again today in Arsal, though no casualties were reported.
Hezbollah has sent fighters into Syria to fight alongside the government against the rebels, which has fueled multiple attempts at retaliation, mostly by al-Qaeda and ISIS. So far, this has been limited to border towns, but has also fueled sectarian tensions between the Sunni and Shi’ite portions of the population.
This war is spreading fast. U.S. helicopter gunships west of Baghdad means the U.S. is going into this in a big way. Obama likely feels he has no choice lest they loose Baghdad and that huge embassy.