Al-Qaeda-Led Rebels Pound Syrian Army Positions on Lebanon Border

Sources Say Thousands of Fighters Active Along Border Region

Fighting has intensified in the Qalamoun mountain range between Syria and Lebanon over the past few weeks, and seems to have dramatically spiked today, with reports that al-Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusra is leading “thousands” of fighters into the region.

The fighters spread out and hit a large number of Syrian Army and Hezbollah posts along the border region, quickly overrunning military posts that overlook the towns established in the region.

They didn’t stop there, of course, with a number of reports of rocket and mortar fire against the towns, and sources saying there were a “high” but as yet unofficial number of casualties.

The towns targeted in the strikes are seen as particularly vital to Hezbollah, which has been backing the Syrian government in the ongoing civil war, and has set up its base in the town of Zabadani.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.