ISIS Fighters Behead A 20-Year-Old Lebanese Soldier
Photos of the killing of the soldier - named as Abbas Medlej - were posted on social media networks. The Lebanese military said it was investigating the reports.
By Sadho Ram β 07 Sep 2014, 06:56 PM β Updated over 11 years ago
On Saturday, Islamic State fighters claimed to have beheaded a 20-year-old Lebanese soldier, identified as Abbas Medlej, it captured in a raid on the Lebanese border town of Arsal in August
Lebanese Army Soldier Abbas Medlij. The 20-year-old was one of 19 Lebanese soldiers and policemen captured by ISIS.
Image via imgur.comSupporters of the group posted photos on Twitter claiming to show the hostage, identified as Abbas Medlej, being decapitated. An Islamic State leader in Lebanon told Turkey's Anadolu Agency that the group killed the 20-year-old soldier after he attempted to escape. According to the group, the soldier pretended to go to the bathroom and opened fire on his captors.
If confirmed, Medlej would be the the second of 19 soldiers missing since the attack to have been executed. Fighters from the IS group had previously killed Ali al-Sayyed on August 30. A caption posted with the images named the soldier as Abbas Medlej, and identified him as a Shia. Sayyed, who was buried on Wednesday, was a Sunni.
aljazeera.comAround two dozen members of Lebanon's security forces were captured by the Islamic State when they stormed the Lebanese border town of Arsal earlier in August, in the worst-seen spillover of violence from neighboring Syria. In the aftermath of the attack, the U.S. sent an emergency weapons shipment to the Lebanese military.
Lebanese army said it was investigating but could not confirm whether or not it was Medlej. However, Medlej's family members were reported as saying the photos appeared to be of his.
he mother of a Lebanese soldier kidnapped by IS protests in front of the government building in Beirut
Image via news.com.auAbbas Medlej's mother, Zienab Noun, said the pictures showing the beheading appeared to be real. "My son was sacrificed," she was quoting as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
Medlej's maternal uncle, Abu Ali Noun, also said the photographs appeared to be of his nephew. A spokesman for Lebanon's military said it was still investigating the incident.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
ISIS earlier threatened to kill a soldier every three days if the Lebanese government did not agree to release their members detained in Lebanese jails. The Lebanese government, however, rejected a prisoner swap, according to Lebanon's Daily Star.
This YouTube grab from the Nusra Front video shows captured two ISF members and a soldier.
Image via dailystar.com.lbThe militants have requested the release of several high profile Islamist prisoners as a pre-requisite for the release of the soldiers and policemen. The Lebanese government rejected negotiating a prisoner swap with the militants, but a Qatari negotiator has recently started a mediation to break the deadlock over the abducted troops.
dailystar.com.lb
Last week, the Lebanese army received the remains of a missing solider believed to have been beheaded by IS militants. Officials said the body of Sgt Ali Sayyed was handed over to the Lebanese Red Cross outside Arsal. A video purportedly showing Sgt Sayyed being decapitated was also posted online.
The fighting in Arsal - which left 16 civilians, 20 soldiers, and dozens of militants dead - was the most serious incident along the border with Syria since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011.