Fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah movement on Saturday made further progress against militants on the second day of a military operation near the border with war-torn Syria, Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Backed by air power from allied Syrian jets, Hezbollah fighters on Saturday gained more ground on the southern edge of Arsal in eastern Lebanon, NNA added.
On Friday, Hezbollah and the Syrian army launched a two-front onslaught targeting jihadists in the Syrian border village of Flita and on outskirts of Arsal.
The border area is a hotbed for insurgents from Islamic State as well as Fatah al-Sham Front, a group linked to al-Qaeda that was previously known as al-Nusra Front.
Seven Hezbollah fighters were killed on the first day of the operation, the movement said.
Syrian warplanes on Saturday mounted five air raids, targeting militant gatherings on the Syrian side of the border, pro-Hezbollah television al-Manar said, without reporting casualties.
The Lebanese army, which is not engaged in the campaign, has sealed off the border area to prevent potential militant infiltration, the agency said.
NNA reported that the army on Saturday shelled groups of armed insurgents who were trying to sneak into its positions in Arsal. No casualty figures were given.
An estimated 45,000 Syrian refugees live in Arsal, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
Arsal is a mainly Lebanese, Sunni town that has largely backed the Syrian revolt since it started in March 2011.
Hezbollah has been fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces inside Syria against the rebels seeking to oust him.
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