DAMASCUS, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army and the Lebanese Hezbollah group on Saturday morning launched an offensive against the Islamic State (IS) group in the western Qalamoun region, in tandem with an operation by the Lebanese army on the Lebanese side of the borders against IS, a military source told Xinhua.
Dubbed "If You Return We Will Return," the operation aims to clear the badlands of the western Qalamoun region in Syria from IS, just a couple of weeks after both allies dislodged the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front from areas in western Qalamoun and the adjacent Juroud Arsal barrens on the Lebanese side of the border.
The cross-border battle was anticipated after the defeat of Nusra in border areas in both Syria and Lebanon.
In the last battle against Nusra, the Syrian army and Hezbollah were fighting on the Syrian side of the borders, and other fighters of Hezbollah were fighting on the Lebanese side of the frontier.
At the time, the Lebanese army wasn't engaged in the fight but took defensive positions in case of any attempt by the Nusra militants to carry out counter attacks
In this battle against IS, Hezbollah and the Syrian army are fighting in Syria, while the Lebanese army is fighting IS in Lebanon.
Lebanese officials said there was no coordination between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah or the Syrian army.
The army in Lebanon will have to liberate around 120 sq km from IS, while the Syrian army and Hezbollah are fighting to defeat IS in 150 sq km of border terrain.
The military source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the Syrian army and Hezbollah are advancing the badlands of Qalamoun against IS, mainly in the barrens of Jarajir and Qara'.
The source said that militants with IS started surrendering themselves, following the advance of the army and Hezbollah in Zamrani area in western Qalamoun.
Also, the Lebanese army was reportedly advancing in Ras Baalbek area on the Lebanese side of the borders.
