Hezbollah hindering release of kidnapped LAF/ISF soldiers - Al-Nusra official

Hezbollah has been hindering the negotiations pertaining to the release of kidnapped Lebanese military personnel in Arsal, by preparing an attack against Syria's Qalamoun region to forcibly take the hostages, an official of al-Nusra Front said on Monday.

In statement to the Turkish Anatolia news agency, the official called for “honest negotiations over the case of the abducted military men,” threatening to resort to military measures to free the inmates held in Lebanese prisons, should the negotiations fail.

Clashes erupted between Syrian gunmen and the Lebanese army in the northeastern town of Arsal on Saturday (August 02), after Imad Jomaa was arrested at a checkpoint in the town

The clashes left at least 20 soldiers dead and 86 injured, while at least 30 ISF and LAF soldiers remain missing, presumably kidnapped by the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front militants.

On Thursday (August 07), a military source stated that a truce in Arsal appeared to be holding and the situation in the border town was quiet.

The Muslim Scholars Committee had launched an initiative to ensure the return of the kidnapped soldiers and served as a mediator between the gunmen and the Lebanese authorities.

 Later on, the Association declared that it will suspend all activities to make way for other sides to deploy efforts in this regard.

The gunmen had issued a list of demands, which include the release of several Islamist inmates from the infamous Roumieh prison. A demand the interior minister had rejected.

Lebanese security officials say the fighters include members of al Qaeda's Syria branch, the Nusra Front, and an al Qaeda splinter group, the Islamic State, which has seized swathes of land in Syria and Iraq.