No coordination between Lebanon and Syrian armies against IS: Lebanese military source

The Lebanese army will not coordinate with the Syrian army to fight against Islamic State in the Lebanese-Syrian border zone, a military source told Reuters on Saturday, rejecting a local media report of direct military cooperation between the two.

The source said the Lebanese army had the military capability to confront and defeat the group without any regional or international support.

The presence of Islamic State and Nusra Front militants in pockets on Lebanon’s border is the biggest military spillover into the country from Syria’s civil war.

An offensive launched last month by Lebanon’s Hezbollah – a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – forced Nusra Front militants to leave for a rebel-held area in northwest Syria under an evacuation deal.

The Lebanese army did not take part in that offensive, but has been widely expected to lead an attack against the Islamic State pocket.

Read the whole story from Reuters.

Featured image courtesy of AP