Lebanon retrieves remains of servicemen abducted by IS in 2014

Lebanon's General Security Head Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim announced Sunday that the remains of eight of the missing soldiers have finally been discovered, after the servicemen were kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) group when it briefly overran the border town of Arsal in August 2014.

"Unfortunately, I had hoped that this case would have been resolved like the previous cases," Ibrahim said as he announced that six remains were retrieved in Wadi al-Debb on Lebanon's northeastern border.

He said "the dignity of the homeland requires us to sacrifice," adding that he hoped the bodies would be identified using DNA testing soon.

Ibrahim made the statement from Riad al Solh square, where the families of the nine missing soldiers set up a camp to demand government action shortly after the servicemen were taken.

Ibrahim said that the government received information in February 2015 that indicated that the soldiers had been killed, but authorities were not been able to verify it.

"Daesh (IS) gunmen who had surrendered during the ongoing push to rout militants from the border region had provided the information on the missing servicemen," he revealed.

Ibrahim said that Hezbollah had negotiated with the Syrian government and "we were the third party in the negotiations."

The retrieved bodies will be sent to the Military Hospital in Beirut for final identification, with results being expected late Sunday evening.

source: Xinhua