REPORT: Five Arsal freed soldiers reunited with their families -...

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Five freed Lebanese troops were reunited on Sunday with their families after being handed over to the Lebanese army in the border town of Arsal.

On Saturday night, the al-Nusra Front released four Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers and one Internal Security Forces member they had kidnapped during the clashes with the Lebanese Army in Arsal earlier in August.

The five men were identified as Ahmad Ghieh, Ibrahim Shaaban, Saleh al-Baradei, Mohammad al-Qaderi and Wael Darwish. All five troops are Sunnites.

The Turkish Anadolu News Agency reported that a leader of the al-Nusra Front said that his group released five Lebanese Sunni troops, adding that the group did not get any ransom in exchange for their release.

The leader also noted that the group's "fight is not against Sunnis," denying intentions to release Christian troops.

The agency also reported that the al-Nusra Front vowed to kill the Shiite captives if Hezbollah continues its battles against the rebels in Syria's al-Qalamoun region.

Clashes flared up on August 01 when Syrian gunmen deployed across the region after the Lebanese Armed Forces arrested Imad Jomaa at a checkpoint.

The clashes left at least 20 soldiers dead and 86 injured.

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 Association 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.

Hezbollah has sent armed men to Syria to fight alongside the Syrian regime troops against rebels seeking to topple President Bachar al-Assad.

To watch Edmond Sassine's report, please click on the VIDEO above

News Bulletin Reports

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