Corpses of 3 Fighters Killed in Tall Kalakh Returned to Lebanon
The corpses of three Lebanese fighters killed in Syria's Tall Kalakh were retrieved from Syria on Sunday.
The corpses were returned to Lebanon through the Arida border-crossing in the North.
Ambulances had entered Syria earlier on Sunday to retrieve the corpses, reported the National News Agency.
The corpses had been identified as those of Malek Ziad al-Hajj Dib, Khodr Mustafa Alameddine, and Abdul Hamid Ali Agha.
The General Security had intensified its security measures at the border-crossing ahead of retrieving the corpses.
A representative of Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Qabbani had also arrived at the scene, accompanied by a number of Islamic figures.
Conflicting reports had emerged over the total number of Lebanese fighters killed in Tall Kalakh.
Media reports had said that 14 Salafists, who mostly hail from northern Lebanon, were killed on November 30 in an ambush carried out by Syrian regime forces as they infiltrated the town of Tall Kalakh to fight alongside the Free Syrian Army.
One report said that around three men arrested in the deadly ambush will not be handed over to Lebanese authorities and will be tried in Damascus instead.
Several others have reportedly escaped and sought refuge with the rebel FSA.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel had said that Syria informed Lebanese authorities that 16 bodies would be handed over.
They are expected to be returned to Lebanon over three phases during the upcoming week.
The atmosphere was tense with shots fired into the air as the bodies of the victims were returned to their families, an AFP correspondent reported.
A Tripoli cleric later informed LBCI television that Dib's body was never repatriated, but that of Mohammed al-Mir was returned instead.
The body of Mir was initially given to the wrong family but later returned to his father. The others were buried straight after funeral prayers.
A Lebanese official told AFP that Syrian authorities told their counterparts that some members of the group had survived the ambush and were being interrogated.
Opposition activists posted video footage on the Internet on Saturday, with the caption: "Abuse of the corpses of the Tripoli martyrs in Tall Kalakh."
In the video, a man is seen kicking at least five lifeless bodies lain out on the ground, while others can be heard cracking jokes in the background. Its authenticity could not be verified.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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