ISIS terrorists captured nine Lebanese soldiers in August and showcased them in a video.
The soldiers were captured in a Lebanese border town.
In a video released by ISIS the Lebanese soldiers begged for their lives.
ISIS beheaded one Sunni soldier and released the video in late August.
The wife of Ali al-Sayyed held her daughter and mourned the death of her husband, a Lebanese soldier who was beheaded by ISIS militants in Fnideq, a town in northern Lebanon. (Credit Reuters)
This week ISIS made several demands for the release of the remaining Lebanese soldiers.
Lebanese officials said the demands are impossible to meet.
The Daily Star reported:
A new set of alleged demands to free servicemen held by ISIS relayed by an unofficial mediator Tuesday are “impossible” to meet if they are indeed authentic, a security source told The Daily Star.
The demands, which include establishing a safe zone from the outskirts of Arsal to Tfail for Syrian refugees, were relayed by informal mediator Sheikh Wissam al-Masri, whose status as an intermediary was questioned by the families of the captives.
“They basically want their own state,” the source said, casting doubt on the willingness of refugees to reside in the zone even if it were established.
“Meeting these demands is impossible,” the source said.
Amid a wave of skepticism and frustration from the families of 25 Lebanese hostages held by the Nusra Front and ISIS, the rumored mediator, Masri, who claims to be negotiating with ISIS, publicly announced Tuesday the demands allegedly relayed to him by the jihadi group.
The sheikh’s very public – and at times theatrical – delivery of the demands ran contrary to the government’s policy of secrecy over the hostage issue.
Masri announced three demands at a news conference in Riad al-Solh Square that he claims were conveyed to him during a meeting earlier Tuesday on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal where the militant group is ensconced.
They included the establishment of a weapons-free safe zone for Syrian refugees, stretching from the border region of Wadi Hmayyed, down through the outskirts of the village of Tfail. The second demand was for the formation of a hospital to treat refugees wounded in battles with Hezbollah.
The third called for the release of all “Muslim female detainees imprisoned in Lebanese jails on charges related to the Syrian crisis,” Masri said.
