Monday proved to be the bloodiest day for Hezbollah in the Qalamoun Mountains of Syria, as the Lebanese Resistance force stormed the remaining positions of the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” at Tal Thaljah; this attack resulted in Hezbollah taking full control over this strategic hill located east of Tal Al-Moussa.
However, despite Hezbollah’s success at Tal Thaljah, the Lebanese Resistance force suffered their highest recorded death toll since the inception of this offensive in the Qalamoun Mountains – Hezbollah confirmed six casualties that included their senior field commander of operations in the Qalamoun Mountains – Ghassan Faqiya’ (AKA “Al-Hajj Saajid”) – who was reportedly killed on Monday morning.
Among the other casualties that were identified from Hezbollah were Ahmad Hussain Mohsen of Bleida, Nabitiyeh (South Lebanon), ‘Adnan Al-Sablineh of Al-Sarafand, Nabitiyeh (South Lebanon), and ‘Ali ‘Abbas Al-Hajj Hassan of Na’bi ‘Alaa, Beqa’a (East Lebanon) – the other casualties were not announced by Hezbollah as of yet.
According to a military source in Damascus, Hezbollah was fighting uphill against the enemy combatants from Jabhat Al-Nusra, with no air cover from the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) because of weather conditions; however, the source further added that the Lebanese Resistance fighters killed a large number of Jabhat Al-Nusra militants before taking control of Tal Thaljah.
The battle for the Qalamoun Mountains is reaching its conclusion, as Hezbollah has asserted control over all border-crossings and the towns of Ras Al-Marra, Faleeta, and ‘Assal Al-Ward.
Hezbollah’s next military endeavor will be to capture the imperative resort-city of Al-Zabadani on the border of Lebanon and Syria in the Western Mountains; this city is critical to Hezbollah because of its proximity to their supply route from the Nabitiyeh Governorate in southern Lebanon and the Nahleh Municipality in eastern Lebanon.
