BEIRUT (AP)
-- Syrian warplanes bombed on Wednesday a barren range of Lebanese hills
used by Syrian rebels and refugees to cross between the two countries,
wounding at least 10 Syrians who were rushed to hospital in a nearby
Lebanese town, Beirut's state-run National News Agency said.
Cross-border
strikes have been particularly intense this week around the town of
Arsal, where thousands of Syrians have fled to escape their country's
civil war over the past months. The attack came days after Lebanese
forces fired on Syrian helicopters near the border, an apparent attempt
by Lebanon to signal that it would be forceful in defending its
territory.
The state news agency did not
explicitly say the bombing occurred on Lebanese territory. But the area
they mentioned, Jroud Arsal, refers to the barren rugged hills east of
the town that are within Lebanon.
Two Arsal
residents said a wounded woman brought to the town after Wednesday's air
raid had died. They said three others are in critical condition. The
residents spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for their safety.
Arsal
is on the other side of Syria's rugged Qalamoun region where the
government has been on the offensive for weeks, capturing a number of
towns and villages in the area.
The Lebanese army did not respond to the bombardment.
Later
Wednesday evening, the area was hit again, this time with rockets, the
state-run news agency reported. No injuries were reported. The news
agency did not say whether government forces or rebels fired the rockets
that hit the Khirbat Daoud region, part of the Jroud Arsal.
On
Monday, the Lebanese army fired on Syrian aircraft that they said
violated the country's airspace. It was the first time Lebanon had
defended its borders from Syria's military since the uprising broke out
nearly three years ago.
Syrian forces often
chase rebels sneaking in and out of Lebanon. Communities on the Lebanese
side of the border dominated by Sunni Muslims have become safe havens
for rebels battling the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
It
is one way that the Syrian conflict has been expanding into Lebanon.
The conflict has exacerbated tensions between Lebanon's Sunni and Shiite
Muslims, and prompted shadowy groups to conduct attacks that have
killed dozens this year.
Also Wednesday, state
media and activists reported heavy clashes in the Damascus suburb of
Adra, part of which was stormed by rebels last month.
The
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said opposition
fighters battled with troops from Assad's army as well as pro-government
militias known as the National Defense Forces and fighters from
Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group. Hezbollah started openly backing
Assad's forces in May.
The Observatory said a number of government forces were killed as well as two Hezbollah fighters.
State TV said 21 rebels were killed in the latest fighting in Adra. Such conflicting death tolls are common.
Electricity
meanwhile was cut off in the entire northern province of Aleppo due to a
"terrorist" attack against main power lines, the state news agency SANA
said. Syrian state media refer to rebels as terrorists.
Attacks on the country's infrastructure have occurred periodically since Syria's crisis began in March 2011.
More
than 130,000 people have been killed so far in the war, now in its
third year, according to the Observatory. The group closely monitors the
violence in Syria through a network of activists across the country.
The U.N. said in July that 100,000 Syrians have been killed, and has not
updated that figure since. One third of Syria's entire pre-war
population of 23 million people has been displaced because of the
fighting.
-----
With reporting by Diaa Hadid in Beirut
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