Al-Nusra Front Releases LA Hostage Soldier

Local Editor

Al-Nusra Front militants handed over Tuesday night a Lebanese soldier they abducted last month to an envoy of Qatar negotiating the release of nearly two dozen servicemen captured in August in the frontier town of Arsal.

The release of First Adjutant Kamal Mohammad Hujeiri, who was snatched from Arsal in September, came after the envoy conducted six hours of negotiations with militants from the Nusra Front and ISIL.

Reports that another soldier was also freed could not be confirmed.

Earlier, General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim left the country as part of efforts to win the freedom of the hostages, a security source said. The source did not identify Ibrahim's destination.

At least 21 Lebanese soldiers and policemen are still held hostage after 30 were captured by the extremist militants during their aggression with the Lebanese Army in Arsal on Aug 2.
The envoy returned to Beirut later in the evening, having arrived in Arsal earlier in the day with the aim of holding talks with the militants positioned on the town's outskirts.

The Lebanese Army and members of the General Security accompanied the envoy to Arsal, a security source said, but went no further than the town.

In exchange for releasing all the captives, al-Nusra Front is demanding a humanitarian corridor for militants in Arsal, the release of those detained in connection to the Arsal clashes and that Syrian refugees be protected from reprisal attacks.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team