REPORT: Eight Hezbollah fighters killed in clashes near Lebanon Syria...

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Calm prevails on Monday in the eastern village of Brital following deadly clashes between the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah and Nusra Front militants who launched a major offensive against the group on Sunday (October 05).

Eight Hezbollah fighters were killed during Sunday's clashes, sources said on Monday, noting that tens of gunmen were also killed.

"The militants sought to open a new passage between Arsal's barren range and al-Zabadani," sources told LBCI, denying a statement by the Nusra Front that it has repelled a Hezbollah attack in Nahle's barren range.

At least 16 insurgents from al Qaeda's Syrian wing, the Nusra Front, were killed in clashes with Shi'ite group Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon on Sunday after launching a major offensive, a source close to Hezbollah said.

"There are at least 16 dead from Nusra Front," the source said, adding that Hezbollah reinforcements from the eastern Bekaa region of Lebanon had joined in the battles.

Hezbollah had issued a call on Sunday to its fighters to defend the area, the source close to Hezbollah and other security officials said. Hezbollah's al-Manar television reported late on Sunday that the group had pushed back the insurgents over the border and the clashes had ended.

Armed with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, the insurgents attacked a large area of territory stretching from south of the town of Baalbek up to areas close to the border town of Arsal. The Lebanese army stayed out of the clashes but has also battled insurgents in the area.

The Sunni insurgents see Iran-backed Hezbollah among their chief foes. Fighters from the Lebanese group have been aiding President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war, battling Islamist groups such as Nusra Front and Islamic State which has seized tracts of land in Syria and Iraq.

Violence from Syria has often spread into Arsal and surrounding areas, which are also hosting tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.

In August Islamic State and Nusra Front fighters stormed Arsal in the worst spillover of Syria's war into its neighbor to date, killing and capturing members of the Lebanese military.

LBCI/REUTERS

For more details, watch Edmond Sassine's full report in the video above