Nusra Fights to Establish Supply Lines

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The attacks over the weekend, Khashan said, were an attempt to “break the stranglehold” that the Syrian opposition groups in the Qalamoun region are experiencing.

Many analysts said the Nusra Front was not seeking to hold territory in Lebanon.

“I don’t see them trying to take territory inside Lebanon,” said Aaron Zelin, founder of Jihadology.net, a website providing primary source information on jihadist movements.

“They’re very much focused on the battle for Damascus.”

Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that the attack was a successful “hit-and-run ambush,” which caused significant Hezbollah casualties.

While Syrian opposition groups have the potential to recruit large numbers of young men, particularly desperate refugees, Hezbollah “does not have an endless reservoir” of fighters, Badran stressed.
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