ALWAGHT- Militants affiliated with Syria’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have entered a Lebanese town, looting homes, according to reports, following shelling along Lebanon's border that left several dead and many others wounded.
HTS militants entered the Lebanese town of Hawsh al-Sayyed Ali after a ceasefire was declared, with reports confirming that Lebanese Army forces have not yet reached the area where the militants are present. The attack on the town in Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel district resulted in at least seven deaths and 36 injuries, with rocket shells also hitting the nearby town of al-Qasr.
The ceasefire, agreed upon by Lebanese and Syrian defense officials, was put in place after two days of clashes along the border. The conflict began when Syria accused Lebanese Hezbollah of crossing into Syria and abducting and killing three Syrian soldiers, an allegation that Hezbollah strongly denied. Meanwhile, HTS militants were reported to have ransacked homes and occupied five kilometers of the border town.
Previous shelling from Syria’s Qusayr countryside had also targeted Lebanon's border towns, injuring more than 10 people last month. HTS militants have been focusing on residential areas, rather than Hezbollah sites, and Lebanese tribes are resisting the militants' advance into their territories.
