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On Wednesday, several rockets landed in the eastern region of Bekaa in Lebanon, as a Syrian warplane had earlier raided the outskirts of the town Arsal. According to reports, a rocket had landed between Brital and al-Taybeh reigions, two rockets near the farm Qassem Mazloum, and another rocket in the Ain al-Jawzeh area in Bekaa. There have been no reports of injuries in the incidents.
There have been conflicting reports on which side of the border the shells were fired from; however, the Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The group had previously claimed many assaults against the Lebanese army and several Shiite towns. According to reports, one of the rockets had fallen on a public park on Labweh and another one crashed into the house of a local in Nabi Othman.
In a communiqué, the army said on Wednesday that a Syrian warplane had earlier raided the outskirts of Arsal and that several rockets were launched on the villages of al-Nabi Othman and al-Labweh. The army added that the plane had fired three rockets in the outskirts of Arsal at 23:45 on Tuesday, and at 00:20 on Wednesday, nearby towns of al-Nabi Othman and al-Labweh were attacked from the eastern mountain range by three rockets. The report added that there were no casualties because of the attacks and that the army had carried out patrols of the targeted areas following the air strikes.
The strikes on al-Nabi Othman and al-Labweh, both of them Shiite towns, seem to have been in retaliation to air raids on the town of Arsal. The residents of al-Nabi Othman and al-Labweh are known supporters of Hezbollah. The Hezbollah is fighting alongside troops supporting Syrian President Assad against the Sunni rebels. Arsal is host to several thousand Syrian refuges, and is sympathetic towards the rebels.
