The Hezbollah flag. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah has come under severe strain from its involvement in the Syrian civil war and from increasing attacks inside of Lebanon from Syrian jihadists.

According to reports, as many as 5,000 Hezbollah fighters are thought to be in Syria, and hundreds of them have been killed fighting in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“Hezbollah is spread thin. They are waging so many battles and are positioned on so many fronts,” Imad Salamey, associate professor of political science at the Beirut-based Lebanese American University, told the Washington Post.

At the same time, jihadists from the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terror groups are spilling into Lebanon and launching attacks against Hezbollah strongholds, including a bloody attack on Oct. 5 that killed eight Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 foreign fighters are heading into Syria each month to join Islamic State and other jihadist groups, despite airstrikes by the U.S. and its allies as well as efforts to prevent would-be jihadists from entering Syria.

“The flow of fighters making their way to Syria remains constant, so the overall number continues to rise,” a U.S. intelligence official said, the Washington Post reported.