Top IS operative killed in Lebanon

Beirut, April 28 (IANS) A top Islamic State (IS) operative was killed in a military raid in a town bordering Syria, authorities said on Thursday.

The IS operative, Nayef Shaalan, was killed in an operation in the border town of Arsal, Xinhua news agency quoted the army as saying.

One of Shaalan's bodyguards was killed and another arrested in the operation.

Lebanon has been battling extremists near the border with Syria since August 2014, when the IS and Al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front briefly overran the border town.