BEIRUT: Lebanon on Wednesday killed nine militants of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front in a military operation near a northeastern border town, the National News Agency reported. Four al-Nusra Front militants, including one officer identified as Abou Firas al-Jebbeh, were killed and several others wounded when the Lebanese army shelled Wadi al-Khail, a region on the outskirts of Arsal. Five other militants were killed later when they attempted to retrieve their colleagues’ bodies. Lebanon has been fighting the Front and Islamic State militants since August 2014, when they abruptly overwhelmed the border town and kidnapped 35 Lebanese servicemen.