Lebanon receives body of soldier captured, killed by Nusra Front

Lebanon received Tuesday the body of a soldier long held captive by the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front group, as the beginning of a deal to secure the release of 16 kidnapped Lebanese soldiers and policemen, according to local media.

As the first part of the deal, the al-Nusra Front handed the body of Mohammad Hamieh, one of the four soldiers who were captured and killed by the group in 2014, to a Lebanese security agency.

In August 2014, militants of the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State (IS) overran the eastern border town of Arsal and kidnapped at least 35 soldiers and policemen before withdrawing back to Syria.

The al-Nusra has since released eight servicemen but executed four, while the IS beheaded another one. Endit