The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
Al-Akhbar
Nusra holding captives in house on Arsal edge
Information made available to Al-Akhbar revealed that Nusra Front militants were not holding captive Lebanese servicemen in caves on the outskirts of Arsal, but in a two-story house on the town’s edge near a Syrian refugee center known as “Al-Nour camp.”
The same house had been previously used as a detention center to hold western journalists kidnapped in Syria and freed after ransom was paid, according to the information.
At the time, deputy Arsal mayor Ahmad Fliti and Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri played a key role in the release of the hostages, who were handed over to ISF-Information Branch after delivering the ransom to the kidnappers.
Syrian opposition sources said Nusra Front has threatened to re-storm Arsal if its demands were not met.
As-Safir
Army border raids kill 50 militants
Government sets condition: No negotiations before killings stop
The hostage crisis will top Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s agenda during talks with a number of heads of delegations taking part in the 69th session of the U.N. General Assembly.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk pushes toward Turkey along with General Security head Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who kept channels of communications open with Ankara and Doha, demanding that the captors stop killing soldiers before the negotiation process starts.
This condition was set during a weekend meeting of the crisis cell held under Salam.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army continued to implement a military plan that required the mobilization of more than 5,000 troops in the northern Bekaa region, backed by heavy, long-range artillery batteries and helicopter gunships, which for the first time used surface-to-air missiles recently supplied by the U.S.
Well-informed sources told As-Safir that the Army was able to kill more than 50 terrorists along with their leaders on the outskirts of Arsal, adding that aerial footage from the past 72 hours affirms the size of the military strike.
More to follow ...
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