DAMASCUS: Syria’s defense ministry on Sunday accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah group of abducting three soldiers to Lebanon and killing them there, state media reported, as Hezbollah denied any involvement in clashes.
“A group from the Hezbollah militia... kidnapped three members of the Syrian army on the Syrian-Lebanese border... before taking them to Lebanese territory and eliminating them,” the news agency SANA quoted the defense ministry as saying.
“The defense ministry will take all the necessary measures after this dangerous escalation from the Hezbollah militia,” it added of the incident which it said occurred near the Zeita Dam, west of Homs.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah in a statement denied any involvement in clashes with Syrian security forces or in Syrian territory.
The group said it “categorically denies any connection to the events taking place today on the Lebanese-Syrian border.”
It added that it “reaffirms its previous announcements that Hezbollah has no relation to any events within Syrian territory.”
Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported that rockets fired from Syrian territory had landed in the Lebanese village of Qasr near the border.
“A number of rockets, fired from the Qusayr countryside inside Syrian territory, fell on the border town of Qasr,” it said, without providing further details.
Hezbollah was a key backer of Syria’s former president Bashar Assad before he was toppled in a lightning offensive by militants in December.
The country’s new authorities announced last month the launch of a security campaign in the border province of Homs, aimed at shutting down routes used for arms and goods smuggling.
They accused Hezbollah of launching attacks, saying it was sponsoring cross-border smuggling gangs.
Syria authorities accuse Hezbollah of killing three soldiers
https://arab.news/rjqk8
Syria authorities accuse Hezbollah of killing three soldiers
- Hezbollah in a statement denied any involvement in clashes with Syrian security forces or in Syrian territory
- Group was a key backer of Syria’s former president Bashar Assad before he was toppled in a lightning offensive
Syrian forces foil attempt to smuggle rockets and missiles into Lebanon
- Vehicle carrying the weapons seized during raid in Al-Jarajir, a village in Rif Dimashq Governorate, Interior Ministry says
LONDON: Security forces in the Syrian Arab Republic foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons into Lebanon on Monday.
An Interior Ministry official said officers intercepted and seized a vehicle during a raid in Al-Jarajir village, in the An-Nabek District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. It contained nine Konkurs guided missiles, 68 rocket-propelled grenade charges, two 107 mm rockets, and five boxes of machine gun ammunition.
The weapons were destined for Lebanon, the official confirmed. Internal Security Directorate units in Al-Qusayr, Homs and An-Nabek took part in the raid on the smugglers’ hideout in Al-Jarajir, where the weapons were stored. They also discovered Russian-made ammunition magazines and a scope for a gun.
The operation was part of the efforts by the Interior Ministry to combat smuggling, secure Syria’s borders and maintain national security and stability, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Last month, Syrian security forces prevented an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of rocket-propelled grenade shells into Lebanon from the Zabadani region of the Damascus countryside.
