Report: Military Leadership 'Doing All It Can' on Abducted Servicemen File

Efforts to uncover the fate of Lebanese servicemen abducted by the Islamic State terror group are “ongoing away from media spotlight,” and the “military leadership is doing everything it can” in that regard, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

In an interview to the daily, a security source who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “Let us stop the bidding in the file of hostaged servicemen. The military leadership is doing everything it can and will not hesitate to open any possible channel that could lead to results.”

The source slammed reports alleging that the servicemen have defected, he stressed: “It is untrue. If one of the servicemen chose to defect from the group it does not mean that the group is treacherous. Everybody agrees that they have carried out their duties to the end.”

Families of the servicemen have escalated measures last week and blocked a main road in Downtown Beirut protesting the “government's failure to uncover the fate of their sons” after more than three years in the Islamic State group's captivity.

The Islamic State group and al-Nusra Front, which re-branded itself as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham in July when it split from the al-Qaida movement, abducted over 30 servicemen in clashes with the Lebanese army in the northeastern border town of Arsal in August 2014.

Sixteen held by the Jabhat Fateh al-Islam were freed in December last year through a Qatari-mediated deal that also included a prisoner swap to release a number of inmates from Lebanese jails.

The two groups had previously executed four of the hostages.

Nine hostages are still being held by the IS and their families do not know much about their fate.