MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Beirut and the Nusra Front militant group have reached a deal for the release of 16 Lebanese security personnel in exchange for Islamists held in regional jails, local media reported Tuesday, citing security sources.
Under the Monday agreement, Lebanon will release 13 al-Qaeda-linked terrorists, including a former wife of the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh in the Arab world) jihadist group leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi, al-Manar television channel said.
The prisoner swap is underway and Lebanese security personnel have reached the exchange location, the broadcaster added.
Nusra Front militants captured Lebanese soldiers and police officers in August 2014 during a joint attack with Daesh extremists on a police station and checkpoints in the northeastern town of Arsal. Daesh, outlawed and classified as a terrorist organization in Russia, is believed to still hold nine Lebanese prisoners.
