(ARSAL, LEBANON) — Islamist militants who captured more than 30 members of Lebanese security forces handed over two policemen to Lebanese officials on Sunday, according to security sources.
Sunni clerics from the Committee of Muslim Scholars mediated a truce between militants and the Lebanese Army and handed the policemen to the Internal Security Forces, according to the source.
The released policemen, Medyan Hasan and Kamal Misilmani, were transferred to the Baalbek region before being transported to the Ablah army barracks near Zahle, according to an Army statement.
Meanwhile, The Lebanese Army arrested 12 Syrians who were allegedly trying to enter Arsal illegally through an eastern border crossing on the village’s outskirts.
A five-day battle with the army which started on August 2 was one of the worst spillovers of Syria’s civil war into Lebanon. Security sources say dozens of militants, many of them rebels from Syria, and 19 soldiers were killed.
The fighting ended when the insurgents accepted mediation by Lebanese Sunni clerics, after which they withdrew, taking captured police and soldiers with them. 19 soldiers and 14 police are still held by the militants.