REPORT: Al-Nusra Front releases Arsal captive servicemen

Al-Qaeda's Syrian wing, the al-Nusra Front, released on Tuesday Lebanese security personnel held captive since August, 2014 in a swap deal that included the release of the ex-wife of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Soja al-Duleimi.
 
A total of 16 Lebanese soldiers and policemen were released under the Qatari-mediated deal.

 

"We accomplished the entire agreement with Nusra. We received our heroic soldiers and we are on our way back to Beirut," top Lebanese security official Abbas Ibrahim, who oversaw the swap, told Reuters by telephone.
 
"This joy not complete until the return of those kidnapped by Daesh. We are ready to negotiate with Daesh if we find someone to negotiate with," he said. Daesh is an Arabic name for Islamic State.
 
Earlier, the body of a Lebanese soldier killed after being taken captive by the al-Nusra Front was handed over to a Lebanese security agency and the Red Cross, the state news agency reported.
 
The National News Agency said Mohammad Hamieh's body was handed over as a result of the negotiations. He was one of four soldiers the al-Nusra Front has killed after capturing them in the Arsal raid.
 
The Islamic State jihadist group, which was also part of the attack on Arsal, is holding nine soldiers not included in the current negotiations.

 

 

LBCI/REUTERS

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