Suspected Body of Slain Soldier Medlej Found in Border Region

Human remains suspected of belonging to slain Lebanese soldier Abbas Medlej were found Tuesday in the Lebanese-Syrian border region, media reports said.

“Human remains have been found in the area where Islamic State militants have identified as the burial ground of the martyr Abbas Medlej,” the reports said.

“DNA tests will be conducted for verification,” the reports added.

The development comes a few days after eight bodies suspected of belonging to Lebanese troops executed by IS were recovered by Lebanese security forces under a Hizbullah-led deal with the jihadist group. The agreement followed separate but simultaneous anti-IS offensives by Hizbullah and the Lebanese and Syrian armies on both sides of the border.

According to General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, the eight soldiers were executed by their captors in 2015, whereas Medlej was beheaded in September 2014 after the IS claimed that he tried to “escape.”

Another soldier, Ali al-Sayyed, was also executed by IS in 2014. Media reports have said that an eleventh soldier, Abdul Rahim Diab, has defected to IS.

Sixteen soldiers and policeman abducted by the rival jihadist group al-Nusra Front were released as part of a swap deal with the Lebanese government in December 2015. Nusra had also executed two servicemen who were in its captivity.

The servicemen were taken hostage when the two jihadist groups overran the Lebanese border town of Arsal in August 2014.