...
Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as
The Resistanceand purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
has taken the lead role on a key frontline in southern Syria near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a monitoring group said Tuesday.
A Syrian military source confirmed Hizbullah was engaged in fighting in Quneitra and Daraa provinces as part of efforts to stop rebels advancing in the area.
Hizbullah and
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
's troops launched a new operation on Sunday to reclaim swathes of territory captured recently by rebels and jihadists, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"Hizbullah has taken the initiative to lead army and Iranian forces in the triangle of territory linking Daraa, Quneitra and the southwest of Damascus provinces," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the British-based monitoring group.
"The frontline is on the border with the occupied Golan Heights," he added. "They have since taken back a string of villages and hills."
Iran has acknowledged sending military advisers and high-ranking officers from the elite Revolutionary Guard to help its ally Assad.
Unlike the Observatory, the military source said the Syrian army was leading the offensive.
"The Syrian army and its allies, including Hizbullah, are fighting battles against gangs in Quneitra and Daraa provinces," the source told Agence La Belle France-Presse on condition of anonymity.
He added that the goal of the campaign was to "put a stop to the gunnies's attacks, (as they inch) towards the capital."
Syrian rebels and the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra
...the current nom de guerre of al-Qaeda in the Levant, which isn't to be confused with al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant...
Front have in recent weeks made sweeping gains in the south of the country.
Daraa and Quneitra are important because they are located near Damascus, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Hizbullah first acknowledged it was sending troops into Syria to back Assad in early 2013 against the mainly Sunni rebels.
According to the Observatory, about 5,000 Hizbullah fighters are now deployed across the country.
| Ynet efficiently comes at the story from a different perspective: |
Syria's army gained ground from rebels in the south on Tuesday in what a monitoring group described as a large-scale offensive in the region backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters against turbans including al-Qaeda's Syrian wing.
The south is one of the last remaining areas where mainstream, non-jihadist rebels fighting
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
have a foothold. Just a short drive to Damascus, the area remains a risk to the Syrian leader, who has otherwise consolidated control over much of the west.