Report: Gunmen Kidnap Several Arsal Residents in Retaliation to Captive Soldier
Armed men from al-Masri family reportedly kidnapped several residents from the northeastern border town of Arsal, media reports said on Monday.
According to al-Jadeed TV, the alleged gunmen abducted Abdullah al-Breidi and Hussein al-Fleiti to press the release of soldier Ali Zeid al-Masri, who was held captive, along with other soldiers and policemen, by Islamist militants.
However, LBCI reported that four were kidnapped in Arsal including Fleiti and al-Breidi.
The other two were identified as Marwan al-Hujeiri and Abdullah Sultan.
The state-run National News Agency reported that the army intelligence briefly apprehended and freed Hussein and Mohammed al-Masri after investigation revealed that they have no links to the incident.
Militants in Syria, including the Islamic State group, are holding around 20 soldiers and policemen. They were seized after militants briefly overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August, the most serious spillover yet of Syria's conflict into the neighboring country.
The angry families of the captive men have blocked highways, burning tires and vowing to retaliate from Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Tammam Salam pleaded in a rare televised appeal for his countrymen to be calm, as anger swelled over the continued capture of soldiers and policemen.
The call came after photos emerged showing that militants of the Islamic State group had beheaded a second captive Lebanese soldier on Saturday.
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