A deal to release captive servicemen held hostage by the al-Qaida-affiliate al-Nusra Front entered the last stages as a Qatari-appointed negotiator put the final touches on the agreement last week. A source said in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Wednesday that the release of the captive is awaiting a decision on the date and venue of a prisoners swap deal with the Nusra Front. The concerned source told the daily that the unnamed Qatari mediator visited Lebanon twice last week to wrap up the deal. "The implementation of the agreement is taking its course," the source added, expressing conviction that no obstacles are impeding the deal. In August, extremists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and al-Nusra Front overran the northeastern border town of Arsal where they engaged in brief clashes with the army. They withdrew from Arsal at the end of the fighting, but kidnapped a number of servicemen. A few were released, four were executed, while the rest remain held. The ISIL and al-Nusra Front want to exchange the captives with Islamist prisoners in Lebanon and Syria. Despite the breakthrough in negotiations with al-Nusra Front, talks with ISIL reached a dead end due to the tough conditions set by the group.
