BEIRUT: The Army chief vowed Friday to crush Syria-based jihadis threatening to destabilize Lebanon, as troops geared up for possible retaliatory attacks by militants in response to their expulsion from two key positions on the northeastern border with Syria, a senior military official said.

The remarks by Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi came a day after Lebanese troops drove Islamist militants out of two strategic hilltop outposts on the outskirts of the northeastern Bekaa town of Ras Baalbek in a pre-emptive strike aimed at fending off jihadis holed up in the rugged border area with Syria.