Nasrallah Vows to Expel ISIL from Arsal’s Outskirts
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Secretary General of Lebanese Hezbollah Movement Seyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed to press on with the offensive to evict militants from the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal, saying the battle at a later stage would also target ISIL fighters based in the volatile area.
He staunchly rejected charges that Hezbollah was planning to enter Arsal, accusing his rivals in the Future Movement of spreading such rumors as a scare tactic.
“The battle for Arsal’s outskirts has kicked off and will go on until its goals have been achieved. We are not committed to a time limit,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech marking the 30th anniversary of Hezbollah’s youth scouts group, the Mahdi Scouts Association.
“We will take our time. This matter will be decided by military commanders on the field because we are concerned with achieving the goal with the least possible sacrifices. We are not in a hurry,” he added, addressing supporters via video link.
Hezbollah has been fighting jihadi militants on Arsal’s outskirts in recent days, capturing more than a dozen positions and hilltops from the Nusra Front-led fighters from the north, east and south.
The offensive began one month ago on the southern end of the Qalamoun mountain range on Syria’s western border with Lebanon. Fighters from Hezbollah, the Syrian army and their allies slowly moved north toward Arsal’s outskirts, killing hundreds of jihadis and capturing large swaths of territory.
Nasrallah said party fighters took over dozens of square kilometers of territory on Arsal’s outskirts over the past few days. He revealed that the battle in Qalamoun, including Arsal’s outskirts, was never planned to be launched this early, but it was prompted by jihadi attacks on Hezbollah and Syrian army positions.
Nasrallah said the next battle will be with ISIL after expelling Nusra Front militants from the area, Daily Star reported.
“The next battle will be with the western part of (Arsal’s outskirts), which is controlled by Daesh,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL. “Daesh exists on Arsal’s outskirts, above Ras Baalbek and Mashareh al-Qaa and close to an area inside Lebanese territories.”
He stressed that Hezbollah has never threatened to attack Arsal. “Not a single Hezbollah official ever said that Hezbollah had a plan to enter Arsal,” Nasrallah said. “We do not want to enter the town and we do not want to get near it. This is the responsibility of the Army and security forces.”
“We are not invaders. We are resistors and liberators,” he added.
He said the Cabinet decision Thursday to task the Army with making the right decision on how to protect Arsal was enough of a national decision to leave the town’s security to the official security and military forces.
