Al-Nusra Sources: Kidnapped Servicemen Will Wage the Fight if Requested
Sources close to al-Qaida linked al-Nusra Front stated on Tuesday that the kidnapped Lebanese soldiers and policemen are kept in a safe place and that they are ready to fight along the ranks of the jihadist group if they are requested to do so.
“The video footage that was released lately is authentic. The soldiers have been provided with weapons upon their request and insistence to fight Hizbullah,” sources close to al-Nusra Front told al-Akhbar daily.
“The kidnapped soldiers are staying in a safe place,” they said, adding that “they will wage the battle if they were requested.”
“The Front did not stop the negotiations, it's the Lebanese side who did,” the sources stressed.
Last week, the jihadist group denied that there was progress in the negotiations to release the hostages in a prisoner swap, saying that the talks have been suspended because of the manipulation of mediators from the Lebanese side.
Furthermore, they considered the latest statements of General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim that there was progress in the negotiations to release the hostages in a prisoner swap as untrue.
Ibrahim has been tasked by the Lebanese government to follow up talks on the hostage ordeal.
The kidnappers request that Islamist inmates are freed in return for the release of the hostages.
“Abbas' statements are only a signal to kill the servicemen with the army's artillery or Hizbullah's because it is the most proper way to end the issue,” the sources said.
They also added on condition of anonymity that al-Nusra gunmen have no intention to withdraw from the outskirts of the northeastern border town Arsal, emphasizing that the areas under its control allow it to stand fast for a long period of time.
The group has in its captivity 16 soldiers and policemen, while nine remain held by the Islamic State extremist group.
The servicemen were taken hostage in the wake of clashes in Arsal in August last year.
A few of them have since been released and four were executed.
Reports have said that the negotiations with IS jihadists have stalled over their crippling demands.
D.A.
G.K.
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