Report: Syrian Admits to Witnessing Beheading of Arsal Captive
The army has arrested three Syrians, one of whom admitted to witnessing the beheading of a Lebanese soldier taken captive by jihadists in the northeastern border town of Arsal.
The three Syrians, who had infiltrated Lebanon, were arrested in the Baalbek town of Iaat three days ago.
The suspects were taken to Beirut for further investigation, reports said.
One of them admitted to being involved in the beheading of soldier Abbas Medlej, who was the second captive to be killed by the jihadists, they said.
He and several troops and members of the Internal Security Forces were taken as hostages after militants overran Arsal and engaged in heavy gunbattles with the army.
The militants have threatened to kill more soldiers if their demands were not met.
LBCI quoted sources as saying that the Syrian suspects are loyal to terrorist Imad Jomaa, whose arrest sparked the Arsal clashes.
They admitted to knowing the location of Medlej's grave and the area where the captives are held.
Medlej's relatives briefly blocked the road in Douris in Baalbek after hearing the news about the arrest of the Syrians.
The army said in a communique on Thursday that it arrested a Lebanese and two Syrians in the area of al-Mesyada in Arsal.
It identified them as Arsal native Bassam Youssef al-Hujeiri and Syrians Ahmed Samir and Fadi Ammar al-Halabi.
The Syrians admitted to belonging to terrorist organizations, the military added.
It was not clear if the arrests in Iaat and al-Mesyada were linked.
Also Thursday, the General Security Intelligence in southern Lebanon arrested at dawn six Syrians for belonging to "extremist organizations," the National News Agency reported.
The state-run agency said the suspects were referred to the General Security Command for further questioning.
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