Our Lebanese Army is a Red Line - Day 2 towards victory and wiping out the Terrorist groups that invaded Arsal
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Prime Minister Tammam Salam described the assault as "a flagrant attack on the Lebanese state," and former prime minister Saad Hariri, the Sunni community's most prominent political representative, said Lebanon's army was a "red line."
"There will be no leniency with the takfiri (extremist) and terrorist organisations and their destructive project," he told the Al-Hayat newspaper
ARSAL, Lebanon: The Lebanese Army Monday regained control of a strategic hill overlooking the northeastern town of Arsal, where three-day clashes between the military and militants from Syria have killed 14 soldiers.
Soldiers succeeded in overrunning the Ras al-Sarj hill, giving the military an upper hand in the fierce battle, a security source told The Daily Star. Control over the elevated land will allow the Army to monitor movements of militants on the ground and strike their gathering spots with better precision.
A Lebanese army soldier stands guard on the outskirts of Arsal, a predominantly Sunni Muslim town near the Syrian border in eastern Lebanon, Monday, Aug. 4, 2014
Lebanese army soldiers on armoured carriers advance towards Arsal
Lebanese army soldiers prepare to deploy toward Arsal, a predominantly Sunni Muslim town near the Syrian border in eastern Lebanon, Monday, Aug. 4, 2014.
Lebanese army soldiers sit on top of a military truck as reinforcements arrive to the outskirts of Arsal, a predominantly Sunni Muslim town near the Syrian border in eastern Lebanon, Monday, Aug. 4, 2014.
Lebanese army soldiers stand in attention as mourners carry the coffin of Lieutenant Colonel Nour Eddine al-Jamal during his funeral in Basta area in Beirut
Mourners pray near the coffin of Lieutenant Colonel Nour Eddine al-Jamal, who was killed during Sunday's fighting between Lebanese army soldiers and Islamist militants in Arsal, during his funeral in the Sunni Beirut district of Tariq al-Jadideh August 4, 2014.
Mourners carry the picture and the coffin of Lieutenant Colonel Jamal during his funeral in the Sunni Beirut district of Tariq al-Jadi
Lebanese army soldiers carry the coffin of Lieutenant Colonel Nour Eddine al-Jamal, who was killed during yesterday's fighting between Lebanese army soldiers and Islamist militants in Arsal, during an official ceremony to pay tribute to his death in Beirut August 4, 201
Lebanese army soldiers ride on a military pick-up truck at the entrance of the Sunni Muslim border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley, as smoke rises in the background during clashes between Lebanese army soldiers and Islamist militants August 4, 2014
Relatives mourn during official ceremony outside military hospital in Beirut to pay tribute to death of Lieutenant Colonel al-Jamal who was killed during yesterday's fighting between Lebanese army soldiers and Islamist militants in Arsal
Lebanese army soldiers help an elderly Syrian refugee after he was evacuated from the Sunni Muslim border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley August 4, 2014.
Lebanese army soldiers help Syrian refugees out of a truck after they were evacuated from the Sunni Muslim border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley August 4, 2014
Baalbek (Lebanon) (AFP) - Lebanese troops battled jihadists on the Syrian border on Monday in a third day of clashes, further engulfing the divided country in the conflict next door.
Analysts said the violence could be contained in the short-term, but warned that an aggressive military response could stoke tensions in the area and elsewhere in Lebanon.
Soldiers fired mortar shells at militant positions in the mountains around the border town of Arsal, in eastern Lebanon, and the sound of heavy machinegun fire could be heard, an AFP photographer said.
A military source said the fighting had killed at least 16 soldiers, two of them officers, as well as "dozens" of militants.
At least three civilians have also been killed in the fighting, according to security sources.
Thick black smoke rose Monday from a petrol station set alight during the fighting, which hundreds of residents fled in the early hours of the morning.
