Lebanon's Hezbollah, long the most capable Iran-backed force on the battlefield and key to Assad's military alliance in Syria, has not yet been asked to intervene and was not ready to send forces after its gruelling conflict with Israel, said three sources familiar with the group's thinking.

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah does not currently intend to send fighters to northern Syria to support the Syrian army there, three sources familiar with the Iran-backed group's thinking told Reuters on Monday.

"The Syrian Army does not need fighters," a Hezbollah spokesperson told Newsweek on Monday. "It can defend its land." The remarks came as the Syrian military attempted to organize