The End of Qalamoun Emirate

Army gains full control over Yabroud, Defense Minister visits the city

Mar 17, 2014

Early this month, the army took control of al-Sahl town to the north of Yabroud and the town and farms of Rima, in addition to the eastern hills overlooking Yabroud, including al-Aqbeh area and the compound and hill of al-Qatri.

With these achievements the army had almost fully encircled Yabroud city, witnessing the collapse of the dens and fortifications of the takfiri terrorist groups successively in front of the fatal blows by the army.

Fleeing terrorists from Yabroud enter Lebanese Ersal, Lebanese Army arrests 5 of them

Meanwhile, Lebanese security sources said there has been movement of members of armed terrorist groups from and to Ersal in Beqaa, east Lebanon.

The Lebanese National News Agency said that the Lebanese Army intercepted a pickup truck carrying armed terrorists in Ersal area, opening fire on it when it failed to comply to the orders of a checkpoint.

The Lebanese Army arrested five terrorists who were in the vehicle and who were in possession of military arms and munitions.

The Lebanese Army also intercepted another pickup truck in Wadi Hamid area containing three Syrians coming from Syria and transporting an amount of narcotics.

Al-Manar TV said that the Lebanese Army is patrolling the borders between Lebanon and Syria to prevent terrorists fleeing Yabroud from entering Lebanon, with army vehicles patrolling the area near Ersal around the clock and closing certain routes that gunmen might use to enter Lebanon.

The area patrolled by the Lebanese Army extends around 40 kilometers and consists chiefly of difficult mountainous terrain.

Reports said that 24 injured terrorists and 3 terrorists' bodies reached field hospitals in Ersal from Yabroud, and that there are many more injured terrorists waiting on crossing points.

Al-Manar TV quoted sources as saying that numbers of terrorists fleeing from Yabroud entered the Lebanese refugee camps in Wadi Hamid.

This movement of fleeing terrorists followed the Syrian armed forces’ seizure of control over Yabroud city and the resulting great collapse within the terrorist groups’ ranks.

Other Lebanese media outlets said large numbers of fleeing terrorists were seen today morning in Ersal after, noting that those terrorists have positioned in the mountains of the Lebanese town.

The Lebanese army recently closed a number of illegal crossings on the borders between Lebanon and Syria which witness infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and ammunition on a large scale.

The recently closed crossings, especially those near Ersal, were used as routes for car bombs which targeted Lebanon and terrorists infiltrating Syria under a cover of some Lebanese political forces of March 14th trend.

Photos from Yabroud