Lebanon PM says victory over ISIS is near
Lebanon's prime minister visited troops near the border with Syria on Wednesday, saying victory against Islamic State militants in the frontier region is near.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri spoke to reporters in Ras Baalbek, where he inspected the command center for the ongoing military operation against hundreds of IS militants, which was launched on Saturday.
"I never doubted the Lebanese army." Hariri said.
The US-backed Lebanese military is now preparing for the final phase of the operation. The military says it controls over 80 percent of the areas previously held by IS and has driven the militants from some 100 square kilometers (40 square miles).
The Syrian army and its ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, have launched a simultaneous operation to clear IS from the Syrian side of the border in the western Qalamoun mountain range. Hezbollah has been fighting in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad's forces since 2013.
