ISIS Moves on Lebanon, gains foothold in Arsal

ISIS has now moved on Lebanon, where they have defeated government forces to seize the city of Arsal. Under ISIS control, Arsal has already experienced civilian executions and extreme violence:

After all the warnings and all the clichés about a war that would “spill” over Syria’s border, the savage fighters of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s Sunni Muslim “caliphate” have at last arrived in Lebanon.

So far, the Lebanese army has lost 13 of its soldiers in a costly battle with rebels to retake the north-eastern Sunni town of Arsal – on the Syrian border and hitherto a resupply base for Islamists trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad – while the conflict has generated the same gruesome events which followed Islamist victories in Iraq and Syria: reports of civilian executions, government soldiers taken hostage, at least 12 civilians confirmed dead, including five children, and the prospect of long and bloody fighting ahead.

www.independent.co.uk...

This is a concerning situation. ISIS is further expanding their territory, and there are hints that Jabhat Al-Nusra has cooperated with the group, no doubt bolstering their ranks. Lebanon claims some success against ISIS, but it appears as if ISIS has so far retained control of Arsal.

I have been expecting ISIS to target Israel for some time, but i knew that they couldn't march on the Jewish state through the Golan heights, as they would first have to defeat the Syrian government and take Damascus. Going through Lebanon though, should prove somewhat easier for ISIS, as all they would have to do is march southwards from Arsal. They shouldn't experience as much resistance as going through Damascus would, as Lebanon's capital city, Beirut, sits on the coast of Lebanon itself.

Now, ISIS is a fair way away from Israel, but could this perhaps be the reason why Israel has pulled out of Gaza? To further prepare for a possible security situation to the north of Israel, in Lebanon? I would say that it is possible.

Obviously, ISIS still has a lot of work cut out for them, but i wouldn't underestimate their force. If they could cut swathes through Syria and Iraq, and defeat highly trained forces such as the Kurds, i am sure that they have a fair chance of pushing through Lebanon...

So ISIS pushed all the way through Syria to get to Lebanon?

originally posted by: intrepid
So ISIS pushed all the way through Syria to get to Lebanon?

They have reportedly been fighting with Syrian troops and rebels both for weeks now. Sounds like they have finished the move. BTW when ppl keep asking how they are doing this,,,,look at the weapons. They are American made. Like Barrets and M1's. I have no idea how they go them, but they are even rolling north now without seeming to hit a wall.

They need to get through Syria in Lebanon.. to get in Israel it also need to get through Syria or Egypt..
What is disturbing they are killing their own to get what they want.

originally posted by: intrepid
So ISIS pushed all the way through Syria to get to Lebanon?

From what i understand, ISIS had pushed the moderate Syrian rebels back into Aleppo, and have since become the dominating opposition force in the war. I read the other day that ISIS conducted a raid into Lebanon, with the help of Jabhat Al-Nusra and some other rebels though, so it is likely that they have experienced some support in the region.

As far as the moderate rebels are concerned, they are all but decimated, and are now mostly active in the city of Aleppo. ISIS controls the countryside surrounding the city, and many FSA soldiers have defected to ISIS' caliphate.

originally posted by: daaskapital

I have been expecting ISIS to target Israel for some time, but i knew that they couldn't march on the Jewish state through the Golan heights, as they would first have to defeat the Syrian government and take Damascus. Going through Lebanon though, should prove somewhat easier for ISIS, as all they would have to do is march southwards from Arsal. They shouldn't experience as much resistance as going through Damascus would, as Lebanon's capital city, Beirut, sits on the coast of Lebanon itself.

Very good point... but at the same time, I feel Israel need not worry about ISIS due to the underlying interests behind ISIS's motives.. I could see them causing ruckus in Iran before taking a stab at Israel.. Only time will tell how this one plays out...

a reply to: daaskapital

What? I thought the west was supporting the rebels. And the rebels are now supporting ISIS?

a reply to: intrepid

We shouldn't be supporting any of these rebels. It is more of the Arab spring crap and by now I hope we all see the President did all this to destabilize and replace the stable regimes with hostile extremists. Providing arms to a terrorist group, as our president has done, is a high crime.

originally posted by: dollukka
They need to get through Syria in Lebanon.. to get in Israel it also need to get through Syria or Egypt..
What is disturbing they are killing their own to get what they want.

ISIS controls the East of Syria, and is also highly active in the northern regions. It can, and has, marched on Lebanon, through Syria though. I'm not sure if ISIS controls all of the land surrounding the immediate vicinity of Lebanon's border, but Jabhat Al-Nusra is highly active in the region, and it is reported that ISIS has acted with the aid of their rivals, which makes the whole incident somewhat confusing.

ISIS can invade Israel through Lebanon, as Lebanon shares its southern border with Israel.

originally posted by: daaskapital
ISIS can invade Israel through Lebanon, as Lebanon shares its southern border with Israel.

Which might make Syria and Lebanon Israeli targets? Just going by past experience.

ISIS is just a trained/sponsored group of fighters under the guise of Islam helping Zionists reclaim the biblical Israel.....

yea, I said it...

originally posted by: intrepid
a reply to: daaskapital

What? I thought the west was supporting the rebels. And the rebels are now supporting ISIS?

Many rebels are, yeah.

Moderate rebel forces still exist independent of ISIS, but many have since defected or fled, due to the growth of ISIS' power. From my understanding, the independent moderate rebel forces now mostly control Aleppo. ISIS controls the surrounding countryside, extending to the Iraq border, and other extremist groups such as Al-Nusra, are still active in their own regions.

a reply to: intrepid

My take: The West is supporting ISIL under the Saudis with funding laundered in Qatar.

They are a trained, equipped fighting force, have propaganda support and will ultimately rout Al Qaeda from within and take on Syria, Iran and blunt Russia's assertive actions in the region. They only downside is they need to spill a lot of blood to earn credibility. But we are talking about oil and brown people, so who really cares? /sarc

The oil majors and Halliburton just want someone they can deal with to move Iraqi crude. Prolly through Saudi refining infrastructure. Eff the residents.

Israel must have cut some deal with them. Notice they are more interested in purging Muslims than pursuing the great Satans. They are already selling oil internationally and they can't do that without support from the "banking world". Hate to say it but, It might actually work.

originally posted by: intrepid

originally posted by: daaskapital
ISIS can invade Israel through Lebanon, as Lebanon shares its southern border with Israel.

Which might make Syria and Lebanon Israeli targets? Just going by past experience.

I'm not sure.

I would think it wiser for Israel to support the governments of Syria and Lebanon in their fights against ISIS. But i definitely think that the countries would become potential targets if ISIS ever gains a proper foothold in areas close to Israel's borders.

ISIS has no air support, so how are they able to advance like this? Shouldn't any nation under threat by them be strafing them with gun fire from the air as well as bombing their ranks from the air. Something doesn't make sense and I'm no military expert.

originally posted by: unphased
ISIS is just a trained/sponsored group of fighters under the guise of Islam helping Zionists reclaim the biblical Israel.....

yea, I said it...

Can you please explain what you mean ?

The main reason they hit Arsal is that is a hot bed of support for the Free Syrian Army. The local popularion refuses to cooperate with the Lebanese army because they see them as pro Assad so Lebabon has only had control of this town on paper while in reality it is the FSA that run the place and supplies to the FSA. So this is just a raid. It will disrupt the FSA so that it can not conduct any major offensives anytime soon.

ISIS tactics as of late have been clear. They know that the Iraqi army along with the Shia militias are planning a massive offensive from the South of Iraq. ISIS will have to put everything it has on the line to slow that attack and hope the create enough casualties that it will have to pause and regroup buying ISIS time. To do that ISIS has to make sure none of the other combatants launch any offensives at the same time. So they have been launching spoiler attacks using their control of interior lines.

First they hit Assads forces whom had an unofficial cease fire with them while they both fought the FSA. However, if Assad broke that while the Iraqis were in the offensive ISIS would be in trouble. They hit first catching Assad forces asleep at the switch. They grabbed some territory and left small forces to hold it. They they hit the Kurds in the North, same way. Now the strike on Arsal as part of the FSA. None of these attacks are going to hold that territory for any amount of time. That however does not matter because those areas will have to be taken, then resecured and then the forces that could have been used to ISIS before will need resupply and rest.

ISIS is buying time. It has to be able to hold the Iraqis in the South without anybody else hitting them at the same time. If it can give up some territory and make them pay for it they will have to stop and regroup again. ISIS can then hit everybody else again. This is because none of ISIS enemies coordiante their efforts. So we will see ISIS slowy shrink while launching spoiler attacks over and over. If your wondering why not hit the Iraqis as well? Becuase their are just to many of them and they have to many heavy weapons now.

Lebanon begs France for help as fighting flares with Isis

Lebanon’s armed forces called for emergency supplies of weaponry from France yesterday to face down Islamist militants aligned to the Isis terrorist group, amid the most serious spillover yet from the Syrian civil war into the fragile Mediterranean state.

This mysterious ISIS terrorist group seem too powerful for my understanding. Something's fishy...

originally posted by: Bilk22
ISIS has no air support, so how are they able to advance like this? Shouldn't any nation under threat by them be strafing them with gun fire from the air as well as bombing their ranks from the air. Something doesn't make sense and I'm no military expert.

I think that me and you....And 12 well trained Girl Scouts.

Could take a large part of the ME.

There is going to be a War...These idiots won't stop.

Add: They show up in Israel in those Toyotas...It will be a short war.

a reply to: daaskapital

At least from media reports (which could be overblown) this is starting to sound like the army that will cause WW3. They are to the ME what Germany was to EU.