Israel has in the last few weeks steppe­d up its strike­s agains­t suspec­ted Irania­n target­s inside SyriaAMMAN: Syrian army forces backed by Iranian-backed militias pushed deeper into the last rebel-held enclave near a strategic border area with Israel and Lebanon in a new expansion of Tehran’s influence in the war-torn country. A western intelligence source confirmed rebel reports that Iranian-backed militias including the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah group were playing a major role in the ongoing battles. “The Iranian backed militias are trying to consolidate their sphere of influence all the way from southwest of Damascus to the Israeli border,” said Suhaib al Ruhail, an official from the Liwa al Furqan rebel group that operates in the area. The area has not seen Russian bombing unlike other ceasefire areas in Syria. With the army and Iranian backed offensive widening, the rebels have called on youths to enlist as mosque imams in Beit Jin called on people to take up arms and fight the army.

Source: The Express Tribune December 25, 2017 07:41 UTC