DAMASCUS, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Syrian war jets carried out airstrikes on Monday against rebels' positions at the country's borders with Lebanon, a move that came just days after the Syrian Foreign Ministry warned that the army's patience was running thin with rebel fighters sneaking into Syria from Lebanon, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said.
The army targeted rebels' positions at the villages located to the northeast of the borders with Lebanon, the TV said, noting that the army's airstrike didn't reach Lebanese territories.
Yet, further information about the airstrike couldn't be obtained independently with the absence of official comments.
Last Thursday, Damascus announced that its forces would fire into Lebanon if "terrorist gangs" continued to infiltrate Syria.
"These past 36 hours, armed terrorist gangs have infiltrated the Syrian territory in large numbers from Lebanon," said a letter sent by Syria's Foreign Ministry to its Lebanese counterpart.
"Syrian forces are showing restraint by not striking these gangs inside Lebanese territory to prevent them crossing into Syria, but this will not go on indefinitely," the ministry added.
The cross-border tension comes as many Sunni groups in the Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli were accused of recruiting jihadists to join the fight against the Syrian troops.
On Sunday, Syria's pro-government al-Watan daily said that as high as 15,000 armed fighters are poised to head to Syria after finishing special trainings in Lebanon, adding that hundreds of well-armed jihadists have already entered Syria through the borders with Jordan.
On Saturday, the Syrian army reinforced its posts on the border with Lebanon, namely along the downstream of the Nahr Al Kabir area which separates Lebanon from Syria.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said Saturday that Lebanon's stability depends "on all of us not sending militants to Syria and not receiving them," adding that "we must commit ourselves to neutrality."
Suleiman said he had tasked Lebanon's army with "the arrest of any militants intending to fight in Syria, whether for the opposition or not."
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