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Lebanon receives body of soldier executed by Nusra Takfiris

A Lebanese Red Cross ambulance carries the body of Mohamed Hamieh, a Lebanese soldier executed last year by al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, after it was handed over to the authorities in the village of Labweh, Lebanon, on December 1, 2015. (© AFP)

Lebanese security authorities have reportedly received the body of a soldier killed at the hands of the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, a Syria-based Takfiri terror group, as the army and militants resume exchanging prisoners.

On Tuesday, the Lebanese Red Cross, which received the body of Mohamed Hamieh from al-Nusra militants, handed it over to officials from the Lebanese National Security Agency in the village of Labweh, situated 124 kilometers (77 miles) north east of the capital, Beirut.

DNA tests are expected to be performed to verify the identity of the slain trooper.

Meanwhile, al-Nusra returned a first group of five Lebanese soldiers, who were taken hostage by the extremist group last year, to Lebanon’s Red Cross officials.

The development came only two days after the Lebanese military agreed to free 13 militants with the al-Nusra Front in exchange for 16 Lebanese soldiers and police officers. Reports say Qatar mediated the deal.

According to media reports, the exchange was planned to take place in a district between the town of Baalbek and the village of Labweh; however, the process was suspended after the al-Nusra put forward a set of new conditions.

Relatives of Lebanese soldiers and policemen kidnapped by Takfiris last year react as they watch news reports about the release of their loved ones in a tent erected outside the government’s offices in downtown Beirut on December 1, 2015. (© AFP)

Al-Nusra Front and Daesh militants overran the eastern Lebanese town of Arsal in August 2014, killing and capturing a number of soldiers and police officers.

They later executed four of the hostages, and are threatening to kill more if Lebanese authorities do not fulfill their demands.

Nine hostages are being held by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, and their families do not know much about their fate.

The Lebanese government said Thursday that it was ready to negotiate with Daesh in an effort to secure the release of the other nine captive.

“We are ready to start a negotiation process with Daesh over the nine soldiers if we find someone to negotiate with,” Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon’s General Security agency, told Reuters.

Lebanon has been suffering from terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda-linked militants as well as random rocket attacks, which are viewed as a spillover of the conflict in Syria.

The Syrian conflict, which started in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people and left over one million injured, according to the UN.


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