ISIL Kidnap Syrian National in Arsal

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) reportedly abducted overnight at gunpoint Syrian national Ahmed Ta'an Assi in the northeastern border town of Arsal.

Hussam Trad, who is is also known as Abi Bakr, kidnapped at the head of an armed group Assi near his house Arsal and transported him to an unknown location in a maroon Jeep Grand Chrokee that didn't carry any license plates, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The reasons behind the abduction remain unclear.

Arsal, a predominantly Sunni area, backs the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The town lies 12 kilometers from the border with Syria and served as a key conduit for refugees, rebels and wounded people fleeing strife-torn Syria, but the Lebanese army stepped up it's security measures in the village to stop infiltration.

It was overran in August by gunmen belonging to the two al-Nusra Front and ISIL, who withdrew from the town by taking several soldiers and policemen hostage. Four have been so far executed.

The jihadists remain entrenched on the outskirts of Arsal on the porous Syrian-Lebanese border.