Hezbollah make strategic border gains to protect Lebanon

In pockets of the rugged mountains near the Lebanese border, the distinctive yellow flag of Hezbollah now flies where al-Qaida militants once held sway.

These gains in the Qalamoun Mountains represent a bright spot for Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, now reeling from a unified insurgent assault in the country's northwest. And again, they show the power and influence of the Lebanese militant group in Syria's civil war, grinding on into its fifth year after killing more than 220,000 people.

A team of journalists traveling with Hezbollah into Syria found smiling Hezbollah fighters proudly showing newly dismantled booby traps and food quickly left behind by the Sunni insurgents as commanders promised further advances they say protect Lebanon.