Jomaa's arrest at a Lebanese army checkpoint led to clashes on August 2 between the army and Islamist militants in the northeastern border town of Arsal. 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.
Turkey's Anatolia news agency quoted on Saturday (September 06) a commander of the Islamic State as saying that the group had executed one of the captured Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers for trying to escape.
"LAF soldier Abbas Medlej tried to escape from prison and after he attempted to open fire at IS members, we took control of the situation by slaughtering him," the Islamic State- Qalamoun branch said in a statement.
Also on August 28, the Islamic State posted photos and a video online depicting a militant beheading a blindfolded hostage who was identified as Lebanese Armed Forces Sergeant Ali al-Sayyed.
On Sunday (August 31), Lebanon's military said an al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebel group released five members of the Lebanese security forces captured earlier in August in a cross-border raid.
The men were taken hostage when militants from Syria took over the Lebanese border town of Arsal for five days before withdrawing toward the Syrian frontier, taking with them Lebanese soldiers and policemen as hostages.
While the release of the five men provided a degree of relief, concerns remain about the troops and policemen still in captivity.