1st LD: Syrian border guards confiscate weapon shipment coming from Lebanon: state TV

The Syrian border guards have confiscated a large weapon shipment and ammunition, including missiles, in a Syrian town on the Syrian-Lebanese borders, state-run TV said Monday.

"The Syrian border guards confiscated a shipment of heavy weapons and ammunition, including missiles, in the town of Bayoun on the Syrian-Lebanese borders," the TV said, adding that the shipment was meant to be smuggled from the Lebanese side of the borders into Syria.

The TV spelled no further details about the weapon confiscation in Bayoun, a town in the border area of Talkalakh in the countryside of the central province of Homs.

Meanwhile, the state news agency SANA said the Syrian army destroyed rebel positions in the countryside of Homs in a series of operations Monday.

The Syrian army backed by Hezbollah has unleashed a wide-scale offensive in recent months against rebel-held towns near the Lebanese borders, mainly the mountainous range of Qalamoun, where both allies stripped the rebels of key border areas essential for smuggling fighters and weapon to the rebels inside.

The recent flaring battles are taking place in the city of Zabadani, west of the capital Damascus and near the Lebanese borders.

The official Syrian media says the Syrian forces and Hezbollah are making strides against the rebels in that resort city, stripping the rebels of buildings and streets on daily basis. Endit