Following on Arab media reports on Tuesday of IAF airstrikes on two targets on the Lebanese-Syrian border, a Lebanese source associated with the Iran-proxy terror group Hezbollah has offered an explanation for the reports, which it said were mistaken.
According to the source, IAF fighter jets were indeed flying over Lebanon during the afternoon hours on Tuesday, but did not launch any strikes.
While the IAF jets were in the air, one of the Syrian rebel organizations struck a Hezbollah post, creating the impression that the jets had struck the post, according to the source, as reported by Israel Radio (Kol Yisrael).
The claim dovetails with reports in the Lebanese Daily Star, according to which fierce fighting was taking place on the outskirts of the same Arsal region where one of the strikes was reported.
In the fighting between the Syrian Al Qaeda-affiliate Nusra Front and Hezbollah, Nusra Front claimed killing several Hezbollah terrorists and seizing their weapons from two military posts near the villages of Nahleh and Arsal.
However, the explanation does not suffice to explain the report of two separate airstrikes, one in Arsal, where the fighting was occurring, and another in Brital.
Hezbollah's official Al-Manar network lost no time in denying any airstrikes on its military targets.
Arab media has in the past reported on IAF airstrikes against Hezbollah targets over the Lebanese border. Just a month ago Al Jazeera reported rocket launchers from Iran bound for Hezbollah were struck in the Qalamoun mountainous region, which is a key weapons smuggling route.
Two days prior, a report in Arab media said a weapons convoy near Damascus bringing advanced rockets to Hezbollah was likewise hit by the IAF.