LEBANON: Army and Police Captives are Held in Caves

Jihadists are holding the captives from the Lebanese army and police in huge caves on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal, al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported on Sunday.

The daily said that the soldiers and members of the Internal Security Forces abducted by the Islamic State terrorist group are held in a cave in Wadi al-Rahwa while the ones taken captive by the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front are present in Wadi Mira.

Wadi al-Rahwa is on Arsal's outskirts while the cave in Wadi Mira lies in the Syrian Qalamoun region, which is geographically linked to the Lebanese town.

The jihadists are entrenched in the caves and have taken control of farm houses in the area, al-Mustaqbal said.

Al-Nusra Front and the IS took the soldiers and policemen hostage when they overran Arsal in early August.

In late August and early September, two Lebanese soldiers were beheaded by the IS. On Saturday, al-Nusra announced that the group killed another soldier.

The Lebanese army said in a communique late Saturday that it has shelled areas where the terrorist groups are located on the outskirts of Arsal.

Several of them were killed and injured, it said.

“The army will continue to take strong measures to protect citizens and guarantee the success of the security measures that it has been tasked with,” said the communique.

The military added that it “would not tolerate terrorist groups wherever they are on Lebanese territories and no matter how much sacrifices were made.”