Al-Nusra Terrorists Halt Negotiations over LA, Police Hostages

Local Editor

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front has announced that it would not negotiate the release of Lebanese soldiers and police unless the Lebanese authorities resolve the situation in the northeastern border town of Arsal.

The extremist group, which took the troops and policemen hostage along with ISIL fighters last month, said on twitter on Friday night: "There is no negotiation on our behalf in the case of the Lebanese soldiers being held captive until things are fully fixed in Arsal."

"We hope we won't have to escalate," added the tweet.

The Lebanese army has been clamping down on terrorists hiding in Syrian encampments in Arsal, drawing condemnation by the refugees.
The new warning came hours after Abou Malek al-Talleh, the so-called emir of al-Nusra in Qalamoun, warned that militants "are in their thousands across Lebanon, awaiting the permission to start the battle."

But cabinet ministers denied in remarks published in An Nahar daily on Saturday
As-Safir daily quoted informed security sources as saying that the terrorists were short on food and ammunition given the measures taken by the Syrian army on the other side of the border and the recent steps taken by the Lebanese military to block roads on the outskirts of Arsal.

The sources expected bad weather conditions to put a further strain on the militants and lead to a breakthrough in the negotiations to release the hostages.

But the sources did not rule out renewed confrontations between the Lebanese army and the militants.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team