They came from Syria, and it's been a while since I've been on that side of the border. From what I've been told ISIS was in stasis, but I saw they were starting to lose in the hot glare of the desert sun.
"Syria rebels raid Lebanese town, capture troops" by Bassem Mroue | Associated Press August 03, 2014
BEIRUT — Rebels fighting in Syria’s civil war crossed into Lebanon and raided a border town Saturday, killing and capturing security force members in the most serious incursion into the tiny country during Syria’s three-year-old conflict.
The rebels, who included foreign fighters, demanded to trade soldiers and police officers it captured in Arsal for some of the ‘‘most dangerous detainees,’’ the Lebanese army said in a statement.
Masked gunmen had roamed the streets as Lebanese helicopter gunships flew over the town, about 55 miles from the capital, Beirut.
A Lebanese army general said that the gunmen attacked army positions near Arsal. Another official said the gunmen also took control of the main police station in the town.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that Arsal residents later freed police officers at the station, though rebels captured some weapons and released several detainees.
A picture posted online allegedly showed gunmen in Arsal driving away with about a dozen men, two of them in police uniforms.
The photograph corresponded to other AP reporting about the attack.
And who could ever doubt what they say, or be disinterested?
Gunmen killed two soldiers and wounded several others, the National News Agency reported.
‘‘What is happening today is among the most dangerous of what Lebanon and the Lebanese are being subjected to,’’ the army statement said. ‘‘The gunmen kidnapped several soldiers and policemen who were spending the weekend with their families . . . and demanded the release of some of the most dangerous detainees held by the army.”
The statement said the Lebanese army ‘‘will not allow any side to move the battle from Syria’’ into Lebanon.
The Lebanese army general said earlier in the day that gunmen took two soldiers who were driving an army tanker truck.
The army’s later statement said the two soldiers were later freed in an army operation.
The general and the official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam described the attack as a ‘‘flagrant aggression against the state of Lebanon’’ and vowed that his government ‘‘will deal with the developments with extreme firmness and strength.’’
Saturday’s attacks came hours after the army said troops detained Syrian citizen Imad Ahmad Jomaa, who identified himself as a member of Syria’s Al Qaeda Nusra Front.
The National News Agency said Jomaa was detained as he was being taken to a hospital in Lebanon after being wounded while fighting Syrian troops.
Arsal is home to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees and rebels enjoy wide support among its population. Lebanese Sunnis, such as the residents of Arsal, often back the Sunni rebels fighting President Bashar Assad of Syria.
Shi’ites, such as those belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, typically back Assad.
Syria’s civil war has spilled over into Lebanon on multiple occasions and inflamed sectarian tensions leaving scores dead. However, previous rebel raids never went so deeply into Lebanese territory.
The violence in Arsal came after an ambush near Syria’s border with Lebanon killed dozens of opposition fighters, activists said.
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Related:
"Authorities in Iraq say clashes and a suicide bombing have killed 17 soldiers in areas around the capital, Baghdad. A member of the Babil provincial council, said clashes between security forces and Sunni militants in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar killed at least nine troops and dozens of militants. Meanwhile, a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a group of Iraqi soldiers in the town of Balad, north of the capital, killing eight soldiers and wounding 23."
What Iraq might have looked like.
Also see:
Arab Spring Benefited Israel
How about that, huh?
