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Lebanese troops freed by Syrian jihadists in prisoner swap Lebanese troops freed by Syrian jihadists in prisoner swap
(about 1 hour later)
Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate has freed 16 Lebanese security personnel held captive for almost 16 months as part of a swap deal, Lebanese media report. Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate has freed 16 Lebanese security personnel held captive for almost 16 months as part of a swap deal, reports say.
The official National News Agency said the handover was under way outside the north-eastern border town of Arsal. The handover took place outside the north-eastern border town of Arsal, where they had been seized.
Earlier, al-Nusra Front handed over to officials the body of one of the four security personnel killed in captivity. Earlier, al-Nusra Front handed over to officials the body of one of four security personnel killed in captivity.
The release is part of a deal brokered by Qatar that will see the Lebanese authorities free a number of prisoners. The release is part of a deal brokered by Qatar that saw the Lebanese authorities free a number of prisoners.
One of the prisoners is believed to be Saja al-Dulaimi, an ex-wife of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. One of them was Saja al-Dulaimi, an ex-wife of so-called Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and daughter of an al-Nusra Front member.
Militants from al-Nusra and the rival jihadist group, Islamic State, seized more than two dozen soldiers and policemen during a major attack on Arsal in August 2014. IS captives 'not included'
Jihadist militants from al-Nusra and IS, which are violently opposed to each other, seized more than two dozen soldiers and policemen during a major attack on Arsal in August 2014.
Al-Nusra demanded that the Lebanese government free radical Sunni Islamist prisoners in exchange for the captives, and killed four of them in an attempt to force Beirut to act.
Relatives of the security personnel also set up protest camps outside the government's headquarters in Beirut and organised regular demonstrations to press officials to negotiate their release.
On Tuesday, the 16 soldiers and police held by al-Nusra were reportedly handed to the Red Cross in wintry conditions in Wadi Hamid, in the hills near the Syrian border, as part of a Qatar-mediated deal.
Doha-based Al Jazeera TV interviewed one the captives as they were being driven to the exchange point, accompanied by masked men armed with rifles.
"We would like to thank al-Nusra Front for releasing us. We would like to thank everyone who took part in the negotiations that led to our release," the captive said.
Three women, one of them wearing a full-face veil and carrying a baby, were also shown getting out of a separate convoy of vehicles that included Red Cross cars.
The woman wearing the veil confirmed in an interview with Al Jazeera that she was Saja al-Dulaimi.
She said that she had been divorced by Baghdadi "six or seven years ago", adding that she would probably head to Turkey following her release.
Lebanese officials said Ms Dulaimi, who is now married to a Palestinian, was pregnant when she was detained along with her with her two sons and a daughter - believed to be Baghdadi's - at a border crossing with Syria last November. She was reported to have given birth to a son in prison.
Earlier, the body of a soldier killed in captivity in September 2014 by al-Nusra, Mohammed Hamiya, was handed over to the Red Cross and officials from the Lebanese General Security agency.
IS is believed to be holding between six and nine soldiers not included in the deal.
The conflict in Syria has heightened sectarian tensions in Lebanon, with violence regularly spilling over its border and more than a million refugees arriving.The conflict in Syria has heightened sectarian tensions in Lebanon, with violence regularly spilling over its border and more than a million refugees arriving.