Arsal Mayor Hurt, Companion Killed as Convoy Attacked after Hostage Swap

Arsal municipal chief Ali al-Hujairi was wounded and his companion Mohammed Hasan al-Hujairi was killed when their convoy came under fire in the Bekaa town of al-Labweh on Sunday, shortly after a hostage swap that took place in Ras Baalbek, state-run National News Agency reported.

Two other companions of the municipal chief were also injured in the attack, NNA said, noting that Mohammed's body was transported to Dar al-Amal Hospital in Douris.

Ali al-Hujairi “was on his way back from a hostage swap that saw the exchange of Youssef al-Meqdad for several abductees who hail from Arsal when he fell into an armed ambush on the road between al-Labweh and al-Nabi Othman,” the agency reported.

The ambush was staged by “gunmen who were in four cars: a Cherokee and a Yukon SUVs and two Mercedes cars,” NNA said, adding that Hujairi was lightly wounded in the head while Ahmed Khaled al-Hujairi, aka al-Qatsheh, was critically injured.

“Ali al-Fliti, aka Ali Zahwi, received light injuries to his hand and he left hospital together with the municipal chief after they received the necessary treatment,” the agency added.

As soon as the news of the ambush broke out, tensions soared in Arsal and a number of men fired their weapons in the air to condemn the attack, NNA said.

In the Bekaa town of Saadnayel, protesters blocked roads in condemnation of the attack as gunmen deployed on the streets, according to al-Mayadeen television.

Earlier, OTV said “al-Nusra Front militant” Abou Khaled al-Qatshi, who hails from Arsal, was killed in the ambush. But NNA said it received phone calls from a number of Arsal residents who denied that one of the wounded is a Nusra member.

Military sources told LBCI television that the armed group that staged the attack also kidnapped Syrian national Mohammed Abbas.

Later on Sunday, the army heavily deployed in al-Labweh's square and on the road leading to Arsal, according to OTV.

A group calling itself “The Brigades of the Four Martyrs” has claimed the attack, Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said.

Later on Sunday, the army issued a statement confirming the casualties and saying the gunmen also abducted two Syrians who were in the convoy.

"Army units deployed in all Bekaa regions, especially in northern Bekaa, have taken extraordinary measures to prevent any escalation,” it said.

Troops are also conducting “a major search and investigation operation to identify and arrest the perpetrators and refer them to the relevant judicial authorities,” the statement added.

A military source told Agence France Presse that the incident comes in retaliation to a deadly attack on four young men near Arsal in June.

He said the attack was carried out by members of the Jaafar and Amhaz families as the car passed the town of al-Labweh.

The four men were killed on June 15 as they smuggled fuel in the region, a security source said at the time.

Members of the Jaafar family, to which two of the slain men belonged, responded furiously and the Lebanese army called for calm in the area, which is home to both Shiite and Sunni towns.

While the deaths were believed to be linked to control of the lucrative smuggling trade in the region, they came amid tensions between Lebanon's Sunni and Shiites communities sparked by the conflict in neighboring Syria.