Briefly

LEBANON

Israel hits Hezbollah as tensions escalate

Israeli aircraft struck posts belonging to the Lebanese group Hezbollah early on Wednesday after shots were fired from Lebanon toward its troops, Israel's military said. No Israeli troops were wounded in the firing, the military said. Soldiers deployed illumination flares, smoke shells and live fire after the shots from the Lebanese side of the frontier, it said. Referring to the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, the military said in a statement that "in response, overnight, IDF attack helicopters and aircraft struck observation posts belonging to the Hezbollah". There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. Tension has been running high on the border.

SYRIA

Caretaker PM tasked with forming Cabinet

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday appointed caretaker prime minister Hussein Arnous to draw up a new Cabinet, according to a statement from the president's office. Formerly the minister for water resources, Arnous replaced Imad Khamis in June and served as interim prime minister until parliamentary polls were held last month. Khamis was sacked following a wave of public criticism over the government's handling of an economic crisis that has seen the value of the Syrian pound plummet against the dollar on the black market. He had served as premier for four years. Arnous's government will also have to oversee efforts to combat the country's coronavirus outbreak. Arnous, 67, hails from Maaret al-Numan in Idlib Province, half of which is controlled by jihadists and allied rebels.

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban strike army base in revenge attack

A Taliban-claimed suicide attack killed at least three people in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday as neighboring Pakistan pushed for delayed peace talks to begin. The suicide bomber detonated explosives in a truck near an Afghan army base in the northern province of Balkh, military spokesman for the region Hanif Rezayee said. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the attack was revenge for a video circulating online that appeared to show Afghan troops desecrating the bodies of Taliban soldiers in the south. The defense ministry has launched an investigation into the video, which surfaced earlier this month. The assault on Tuesday killed two civilians and a commando and wounded more than 40 others, Rezayee said. Pakistan has said negotiations are the only way forward in Afghanistan and sees its role as a "facilitator".

Agencies Via Xinhua