Syrian army, Hezbollah start broad offensive on border city

The Syrian army and Hezbollah group unleashed on Saturday a broad offensive against a rebel-held resort town in northwest of the capital Damascus and close to Lebanon's borders, media reports and a source familiar with the assault told Xinhua.

The Syrian army and the allied Lebanese Hezbollah group started a massive attack against the city of Zabadani from different routes on Saturday under a heavy cover of firepower from artillery and aerial bombardment that targeted all of the rebels' positions in that resort town in the western part of the rugged Qalamoun region near Lebanon, the source said.

Local press said the large assault on the city came just a couple of days after the rebels in Zabadani announced the start of a battle to break the government troops-imposed siege on the city.

The rebels' attempt to break the long-imposed siege has failed, as the Syrian forces started a swift operation, isolating Zabadani from the adjacent town of Surghaya, where the rebels also enjoy a sway.

The heavy shelling continued over the last couple of days against the rebel positions in Zabadani, Sughaya and the nearby town of Madaya, targeting a training camp and a command center of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

Zabadani is located 45 kilometers northwest of Damascus and only 11 kilometers from the Lebanese borders. The city is close to the Lebanese Ersal barrens and contains at least 1,500 rebels.

The government forces and Hezbollah's control of the city aim to lift the military pressure on the nearby Lebanese towns on the borders with Syria.

Hezbollah and the Syrian forces have been busy recently dislodging the rebels from the eastern parts of Qalamoun Mountains, and their battle in Zabadani in the west was expected after both allied retook almost all of the towns in eastern Qalamoun. Endit