BEIRUT, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced Wednesday that his country had triumphed over terrorism.
The remarks came after an offensive launched by the Lebanese army against Daesh (IS) ended with a cease-fire agreement that saw the fundamentalists leave Lebanese territory for Syria.
"We congratulate the leadership of the army and the soldiers who have made this victory, and we bow before the martyrs that have fallen," Aoun said during a news conference at Baabda presidential palace.
"Today we announce our victory over terrorism," Aoun declared.
Defense Minister Yaacoub Sarraf and Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun were present at the news conference.
"This achievement in the army's march has turned the page on a painful period in our national life," Gen. Aoun said in a statement released by the Orientation Directorate.
Aoun's statement came as the army celebrated a successful offensive against Daesh after liberating Lebanon's northeast border regions from the militant group.
The operation, dubbed "Fajr al-Jourud," (Dawn of the outskirts) resulted in the death of seven soldiers and the killing of dozens of militants.
But the victory was marred by the news that nine servicemen captured by Daesh and al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front when the jihadists overran briefly the northeastern border town of Arsal in August 2014, had been killed.
The location of the captured servicemen burial site was disclosed by Daesh militants who surrendered during the offensive. The bodies were found on the outskirts of Arsal.
"Today, after you have ended the Fajr al-Jourud operation, in which you achieved a decisive victory over terrorism by expelling it from the outskirts of Ras Baalbeck and Al-Qaa, this dear area returns to the fold of the nation," Aoun added.
"With the conclusion of the ten-day offensive, the last vestige of militants on Lebanese soil has been eradicated," he concluded.
Daesh fighters left Lebanon on Monday bound for Syria's Deir al-Zor as part of a Hezbollah-negotiated deal, which ended the group's presence on the outskirts of Ras Baalbeck and Al-Qaa as well as in Syria's western Qalamoun.
