Hezbollah confirms three members killed in border fighting

The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah said on Friday that three of its fighters were killed in clashes against Islamic militants near the border with Lebanon this week.

In a statement by its media department, Hezbollah denied media reports that more than 40 of its fighters had died in the fighting in Syria's al-Qalamoun front.

"Hezbollah emphasizes that these reports are totally untrue and baseless. Only three fighters have been killed since the confrontations began. Their honorable families have been notified," the statement said.

Al-Qaida linked al-Nusra Front said in statement that "a large number of Hezbollah and Syrian army members were killed and others wounded in fighting with al-Fatah al-Qalamoun army in Assal al-Wared."

It added that "after Hezbollah infiltrated the area from the Lebanese side, the Mujahedin made a tactical withdrawal from Assal al-Wared to repel the infiltration."

The terrorist group warned the Lebanese citizens that Hezbollah "is exploiting Lebanon's land to sneak behind our fighters. We warn the Lebanese, Hezbullah is trying to drag them into a war schemed by Iran."

Hezbollah has been fighting alongside the Syrian army against predominantly Sunni rebels and militants seeking to topple him.

Fighting has intensified in the past week in the mountainous al-Qalamoun region across the border from Lebanon, where militants from the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State (IS) are entrenched.

The Lebanese army has been engaged periodically in clashes with both fundamentalist groups since last August when the gunmen overran the northeastern border town of Arsal.

Before withdrawing to Syria, the gunmen abducted at least 32 soldiers and policemen, and al-Nusra later executed four soldiers while the IS beheaded another one.

The Lebanese government has been engaged through a Qatari mediator in negotiations to secure the release of the abducted, and General Security Chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim said Friday that the deal is almost finalized and lacks only the "implementation mechanism." Endit