Lebanon Army Launches 3rd Phase of Anti-IS Attack as Explosives Kill Soldier

The Lebanese army announced Tuesday that it has launched the third phase of a broad offensive to capture areas controlled by the terrorist Islamic State group on the border with Syria.

The army began its operation on Saturday and has so far captured about two-thirds of the area once held by IS.

The army said in a statement that one of its mine experts was killed and four others were wounded early Tuesday when explosives left behind by the extremists went off as they dismantled them.

The Syrian army and Lebanon's Hizbullah have launched a simultaneous operation to clear IS militants from the Syrian side of the border in the western Qalamun mountain range. Hizbullah has been fighting in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad's forces since 2013.