BEIRUT
The militant Islamic State (IS) organization had killed a Lebanese soldier captured in August for attempting to escape, an organization leader has said.
"Yes, we slaughtered Lebanese soldier Abbas Modlaj because he attempted to escape," the IS leader from the northern Lebanese town of Al-Qalamoun told Anadolu Agency over the internet.
He said Modlaj said he was going to the bathroom, but shot at IS members, even without mentioning how the soldier obtained the gun with which he shot at the members of the movement that captured him along with several other Lebanese troops.
Fierce clashes erupted between the Lebanese army and IS militants in Arsal in August, a Lebanese town on the Syrian border. At least 17 Lebanese troops were killed in the violence and a number captured.
Of these captured troops, ten are reportedly held by IS and 18 by the Al-Nusra Front, another Islamist movement fighting the ruling regime in neighboring Syria.
The violence in Arsal broke out after gunmen – said to be IS militants – attacked security and army sites in the town. They also abducted a number of residents and Lebanese troops in retaliation for the recent arrest of a rebel leader.
The recent violence has largely destroyed several camps that cater to thousands of Syrian refugees, prompting many of the latter to flee.
Along with the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees, Lebanon has been hard hit by the conflict in neighboring Syria.
The country has also witnessed a recent surge in militant attacks in response to Hezbollah's role in the Syria conflict, where the Shiite militant group continues to fight alongside Syrian regime troops.
By Gad Yateem
www.aa.com.tr/en
