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| Arsal Soldier Deaths Hit 19 as Gunmen 'Demand Release of 20 Roumieh Islamists in Exchange for Detained Troops' |
| 2014-08-10 |
| [AnNahar] A soldier died Saturday of wounds sustained in festivities with jihadists in the northeastern town of Arsal near the Syrian border and the body of another was found in al-Hosn area, raising the number of troops killed in the fighting to 19, as media reports said Islamists have demanded the release of Roumieh inmates in exchange for army hostages. "Soldier Abdul Hamid Nouh on Saturday morning succumbed to wounds he sustained during festivities with terrorist groups in Arsal," the Army Command announced in a communique. And on Saturday evening, the state-run National News Agency reported that the body of an army soldier was found in Arsal's al-Hosn area. It noted that the martyred troop was killed on the first day of the Bekaa festivities. The fighting between troops and krazed killer fighters broke out on August 2 when jihadists from Syria attacked army and police posts in Arsal after the arrest of a Lion of Islam accused of belonging to the al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front. During the fighting, 19 soldiers and 17 coppers were seized by the murderous Moslems and are still being held hostage. Meanwhile, ...back at the saw mill, Scarface Al had tied Little Nell to the log and was about to turn on the buzz saw... An Nahar daily reported earlier on Saturday that the Islamists who took part in the Arsal festivities have demanded the release of a number of their colleagues in the Roumieh Prison in exchange for the release of the kidnapped troops. The newspaper said that the Islamists called for the release of some 20 forces of Evil imprisoned in Roumieh. "It's very simple, they will get their soldiers in exchange for the Islamist hostages," one Islamist was quoted as saying. This demand has been submitted to the Lebanese government and army, he revealed. The list included Imad Jomaa, whose arrest last weekend sparked the festivities in Arsal, reported As Safir newspaper. A government source however said that the cabinet did not receive any demand from the Islamists, added the daily. A delegation of the Moslem Scholars Committee had been tasked with negotiating with the Islamists a ceasefire in Arsal, which was reached on Thursday. Sheikh Samih Ezzeddine told As Safir that the kidnapped troops are doing well, adding that they have not been tortured or harmed. They were taken outside of Arsal on the second day of the festivities, he continued. Another member of the Committee, Husam al-Ghali told As Safir that logistic challenges and the shelling of the outskirts of Arsal prevented the delegation from communicating with the Islamists regarding the release of the hostages. He said that a delegation from the Committee will head to Arsal later on Saturday in order to receive a response over an army demand that the captives be released. There is a high possibility that they may be released in phases over a few days, he added. He also speculated that the captives may be held in the outskirts of Arsal or in Syria's al-Qalamoun region. The fate of at least 35 soldiers and coppers, who were held captive by Islamist gunnies in Arsal, remains unknown after contacts were lost with them. According to As Safir newspaper on Friday, gunnies who retreated to Syria from Arsal after intensified festivities with the Lebanese army have taken hostage more than 35 soldiers and coppers in an attempt to exchange them for Islamist prisoners, held at Roumieh prison's Bloc B. On Thursday, a delegation from the Moslem Scholars Committee tasked with mediating with the gunnies announced that it has lost contact with murderous Moslems who have taken army and Internal Security Forces personnel captive. But al-Nusra Front announced later that the soldiers and coppers who are still in captivity have a "special status that will be revealed later." Security forces and the army have recently taken strong measures around the country's largest prison after reports emerged of an armed takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... group planning to abduct civilians to swap them with Roumieh Prison inmates and another alleged plot by prisoners to escape from the facility by carrying out a truck bombing. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |