BEIRUT: Hezbollah and Syrian army forces Wednesday advanced further into a northwestern region of a Syrian border town which has been the scene of fierce fighting over the past week, a source told The Daily Star.
The source, who is close to Hezbollah, said at least 13 Syrian rebels and one Hezbollah fighter were killed in Wednesday's clashes in the resort town of Zabadani, located just 8 kilometers from Lebanon's eastern border.
The clashes come one day after Al-Manar TV reported that residential areas had fallen to Hezbollah and the Syrian army in Zabadani's northwestern neighborhood of Zahra.
The report added that Hezbollah and the Syrian army took control of a number of rebel positions that militants had previously used to launch attacks.
Two Hezbollah fighters had been killed in Tuesday's fighting, according to The Daily Star's source. Wednesday's death brings the party's overall death toll in battle for Zabadani to seven.