Buses evacuate Islamic State fighters from key border region

A convoy of buses and ambulances evacuated hundreds of Islamic State fighters and their families from the Lebanon-Syria border region after an unprecedented deal was struck this week.

Syrian state television showed the departure of the jihadists under Syrian military escort on Monday.

The convoy was headed for eastern Syria and was part of a ceasefire that came after a week-long battle, reports Reuters.

Video of that engagement showed the Syrian army and fighters from Hezbollah - a Shia Islamist militant group and political party - pounding Islamic State positons in the mountain region close to the Lebanon border last week.

The jihadist fighters were hit by a fierce barrage fired by tanks, rocket artillery and heavy machine guns.

Monday's transfer ends any insurgent presence on the Syria-Lebanon border, an important goal for the Lebanon government and Hezbollah..

It also marks the first time Islamic State has publicly agreed to a forced evacuation from territory it held in Syria.

Islamic State agreed to a ceasefire deal that took effect on Sunday with the Lebanese army on one front and Hezbollah with the Syrian army on the other.

The militants had lost much of their mountainous enclave straddling the border since the two offensives began on opposite sides of the frontier.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has been a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad throughout Syria’s six-year war.

The convoy being transferred into Syria included 308 militants with their small arms and 331 civilians, senior Hezbollah officials said.