The emir of al-Nusra Front in the Syrian Qalamoun region, Abou Malek al-Talli, has reportedly invited the families of the Lebanese hostages to visit their loved ones on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.

Family member Hussein Youssef told TV and radio stations that al-Talli asked Sheikh Mustafa al-Hujeiri to inform the relatives held captive by al-Nusra Front to head to the northeastern border town of Arsal on Saturday to meet the hostages.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has returned from Doha with pledges to revive the prisoner exchange deal between the Lebanese authorities and jihadists who have taken Lebanese servicemen captive, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Thursday.

Ibrahim, who is the official Lebanese negotiator in the case of the troops and policemen, returned to Beirut on Wednesday after a two-day visit to Qatar.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim is expected to travel to Qatar this week after it was reported that he would visit Turkey to discuss with Qatari officials the case of Lebanese servicemen taken hostage by jihadists last year.

Security sources told al-Akhbar daily published on Monday that the officials asked Ibrahim to meet them in Doha instead.

Talks last week between Afghan and Taliban negotiators were hailed by officials as a major breakthrough, but insurgent commanders on the ground have responded far more skeptically, highlighting the huge challenges facing the embryonic peace process.

Members of the Afghan High Peace Council sat down with Taliban cadres last week in Murree, a tourist town in the hills north of Islamabad, for their first official talks to try to end the militants' bloody fight, now in its 14th year.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim is expected to travel to Turkey next week to discuss with Qatari officials the case of Lebanese servicemen taken hostage by jihadists last year.

Security sources told al-Akhbar daily published on Friday that Ibrahim, who is the official Lebanese negotiator in the case of the troops and policemen, will inform the Qataris that Lebanon has completed the file on the prisoner exchange which was mediated by Doha's envoy.

Interior ministers of the Gulf states Friday vowed to take a united stand against a string of deadly bombings targeting Shiite mosques claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

Holding an emergency meeting in Kuwait, the scene of the latest suicide attack that killed 26 people last Friday, the ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states stressed the attacks are a threat to the stability of the region.

A senior Islamic State leader who coordinated suicide bombings and recruited funds and fighters for the jihadists has been killed in a coalition air strike in Syria, the Pentagon said Thursday.  

Tariq bin Tahar al-Awni al-Harzi was killed in the northern city of Shaddadi on June 16, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said in a statement. 

The families of the Lebanese hostages blocked two vital roads in and around Beirut on Thursday to draw attention to the almost one-year case of the captives and urge the authorities to prioritize it.

The relatives of the policemen and soldiers, who were taken hostage when jihadists from al-Nusra Front and Islamic State group overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August last year, blocked the Saifi road in downtown Beirut and the coastal highway in Naameh early Thursday by forming a human chain.

The Lebanese government has failed to approve a deal with jihadists who have taken servicemen hostage after coming under pressure from Hizbullah, an official said Thursday.

The official, who was not identified, said Hizbullah pressured the cabinet and the so-called crisis cell to reject a deal mediated by Arab and regional countries for al-Nusra Front to release the 16 servicemen it has in its captivity in return for Beirut to set free female detainees and pay a $30 million ransom.

The German authorities should carry out an investigation into the two-day detention of Al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour, a global rights watchdog said Wednesday.

Human Rights Watch called on German lawmakers to put pressure on their government to get answers.