BEIRUT (AP) – Lebanon’s U.S.-backed army on Saturday launched its biggest military operation yet against Islamic State militants, who gained a foothold along the border with neighboring Syria in 2014.
The long-awaited campaign aims to defeat the militants in their last enclave and put an end to a terror threat that has loomed over the country for years.
The Lebanese Hezbollah group and the Syrian army announced a simultaneous offensive to clear IS militants from the Syrian side of the border, in the western Qalamoun mountain range. Hezbollah has been fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces in Syria since 2013.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun called field commanders from the Defense Ministry where he was monitoring operations early to tell them, “You will not disappoint us,” and “Our hearts and minds are with you,” according to video broadcast on TV channels across the country.
Operations commenced before dawn, with the military striking IS positions in the eastern border areas with Syria, Brig. Gen. Ali Qanso said in a press conference at the Defense Ministry. He warned of a difficult battle ahead. The barren hills in eastern Lebanon will leave infantry exposed to IS snipers, and the militants are expected to mine the area on a vast scale.