Updated 08:38 p.m. Moscow Time
BEIRUT, September 26 (RIA Novosti) – The Jabhat al-Nusra radical group threatened to expand its activity in Lebanon on Friday, confirming that its operations are not limited to the Syria-Lebanon border area and are conducted in Lebanon's central regions.
"A lot of Sunnis, especially our people in Lebanon, are waiting for a statement from us, where we would declare our new policy with regard to Hezbollah, and with regard to [Shiite] followers in general, and their crimes, which are no longer a secret to anyone, that they have committed against our brothers in Syria, and the expulsion of women and children that they have carried out after attacking shrines and murdering men," the head of Jabhat al-Nusra said in a telephone recording released by the group's press service.
The group added that the Sunnis "are like a volcano" and it "will not sleep until we get revenge on these criminals."
"In truth, our struggle [against Hezbollah and its followers] is not confined to fighting at the borders and in the mountains. We have been able to break into the heartland of Lebanon, and the number of our fighters is now in the thousands, and they are waiting for the permission to start launching attacks in Lebanon, against villages, and especially against the Shiites," Jabhat al-Nusra warned.
"These are signs of a coming war; the rage of the Sunnis is coming," the group said, urging all Sunnis in Lebanon to "stand together."
Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the al-Nusra Front is an affiliate of al-Qaeda, which is fighting against Hezbollah - a paramilitary and political organization originating in Lebanon's Shiite population. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist state by many Western governments including Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and many European states, but not by Russia.
Hezbollah militants have been taking part in the Syrian government's operations against the armed opposition and the Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
IS and al-Nusra positions are being targeted by the US-led anti-terrorism coalition, which started carrying out airstrikes in Syria earlier this week.
One of al-Nusra's leaders, Abu Yusuf Turki, was reportedly killed in an airstrike on Wednesday.
