20 August, 2017
Lebanese troops on Saturday launched an offensive against the Islamic State group on the country’s eastern border with Syria, seeking to drive the jihadists from a long-time stronghold.
The operation came as IS faces multiple military attacks on territory it controls in both Syria and neighbouring Iraq, where it lost the city of Mosul in July.
Militants have long been active in mountainous eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria, where a bloody civil war has raged since 2011. –AFP