Army chief General Jean Qahwaji on Thursday said he expects the eruption of a “new battle” with jihadist militants in the outskirts of the Bekaa border town of Arsal, revealing that the army has “detected” the presence of a terror cell in the northern city of Tripoli. “The Lebanese army has reinforced its deployment on Arsal's hills and isolated the town from its outskirts, in order to besiege the gunmen and prevent them from receiving any supplies,” Qahwaji said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.

He said he expects “the eruption of a new battle with the armed groups” in Arsal's peripheries. “Hizbullah did not take part in Arsal's battle,” Qahwaji stated, noting that the party's military posts “are around 12 kilometers away from the army's checkpoints” in the area. [Link]