BEIRUT: Syrian rebels and ISIS jihadists have agreed a non-aggression pact for the first time in a suburb of the capital Damascus, an activist group said Friday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the cease-fire deal was agreed between ISIS and moderate and Islamist rebels in Hajar al-Aswad, south of the capital.
Under the deal, "the two parties will respect a truce until a final solution is found and they promise not to attack each other because they consider the principal enemy to be the Nussayri regime."
Nussayri is a pejorative term for the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which President Bashar Assad belongs.
Syria's armed opposition initially welcomed jihadists including ISIS members in their fight against Assad.
But the group's harsh interpretation of Islam and quest for domination of captured territory sparked a backlash against it that began in January.
A coalition of rebel groups pushed ISIS out of much of northern Syria, but it has recaptured much of that territory in recent months and has a strong presence in Hajar al-Aswad.
More than 180,000 people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the uprising against Assad that began in March 2011.
Syria rebels, ISIS in 'non-aggression' pact near Damascus | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR
BEIRUT: Suspected Nusra Front and ISIS militants attacked several stone quarries near Arsal’s hills Friday, destroying equipment and stealing bulldozers, according to some media reports.
While several media outlets said the attacks were carried out by fighters with the Nusra Front, Lebanon's National News Agency reported that militants from both the Nusra Front and ISIS had raided the three quarries - belonging to Mohammad Alouli, Melhem Hujeiri and Hani Hujeiri - destroying machines and driving back to the hills with several stolen bulldozers.
Suspected militants attack quarries outside Lebanon's Arsal, steal bulldozers | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR
Four Hezbollah fighters killed near border village | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR
HERMEL, Lebanon: At least four Hezbollah fighters were killed overnight Wednesday during clashes with jihadists on the outskirts of a Lebanese border village in the Bekaa Valley, security sources told The Daily Star Thursday.
Fierce clashes erupted between Hezbollah fighters and rebel groups a few kilometers away from the village of Ras Baalbek, near a Hezbollah position in the region.
A total of 17 people were either killed or wounded but only four men were identified as Lebanese resistance fighters, the source said.
The incident would have remained under wraps if the two ambulances had not broken down on their way to a Bekaa Valley hospital, a source said on condition of anonymity.
Syrian troops, backed by Hezbollah, have been battling rebel and jihadist groups along the border with Lebanon to root out opposition fighters who have infiltrated the eastern frontier.
Last month, the Lebanese Army engaged in fierce clashes with militants from Syria for five days in which dozens of Islamist fighters and at least 19 soldiers were killed in the border town of Arsal, a few kilometers from Ras Baalbek.
The militants captured at least 30 soldiers and policemen during the fighting. Nusra Front has so far released seven while ISIS has beheaded two Army troops.
Four Hezbollah fighters killed near border village | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR
