Army Arrests 'Private Doctor' of Nusra's Leader in Border Region

The army on Sunday managed to arrest the “private doctor” of the so-called “emir” of the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front in the Syria-Lebanon border region, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported.

“The Lebanese army has managed to arrest in (the northeastern border town of) Arsal the Syrian national J. Sharafeddine, who is the private doctor of Abu Malek al-Talli,” al-Nusra's leader in the border region, NNA said.

Earlier on Sunday, the agency announced that “one of the most senior terrorists of al-Nusra Front was arrested at a Lebanese army checkpoint in Arsal's outskirts.” It was not immediately clear if it was referring to the same person.

“Strict security measures are still underway inside and around the town of Arsal in pursuit of fugitives and terrorists,” NNA said.

LBCI television meanwhile reported that the army arrested in Arsal a Lebanese man accused of “smuggling goods to the outskirts” and that “he is being interrogated to determine whether he had ties to the militant groups.”

The army has been implementing strict security measures in and around Arsal since Saturday, in the wake of the attempted assassination of a mayor and reports that Syrian and Lebanese militants have prepared a “hit list” that includes the names of ten people in Arsal that the group intends to liquidate.

Ever since the Syrian revolt erupted in March 2011, Arsal has served as a key conduit for refugees, rebels, extremists and wounded people fleeing strife-torn Syria.

Militants from al-Nusra and the Islamic State group are entrenched in rugged mountains in the town's outskirts and along the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Lebanese army regularly shells their positions while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border.

IS and al-Nusra briefly overran the town of Arsal in August 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly battles.

The retreating militants abducted more than 30 troops and policemen of whom four have been executed and nine remain in the captivity of the IS group.