The Nusra Front has yet to declare its willingness to implement the swap deal reached between the Islamist group and the state to free 16 Lebanese servicemen, General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said Monday. "We are waiting for the Nusra Front to declare its willingness to implement a deal with the state, and we are ready to fully abide by it," the official was quoted as saying by Voice of Lebanon radio station after talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail. However, Ibrahim, who has been tasked by the Lebanese government to oversee hostage negotiations, lamented that Nusra was not moving on the deal reached to free the servicemen. "The negotiations are finalized with the abductors of the servicemen," Ibrahim said. The captives were among more than 30 initially abducted during a battle sparked when ISIS and Nusra Front militants stormed the border town of Arsal in August last year. Nusra has since released eight, and shot dead two. ISIS beheaded two, and still holds nine. Media reports said that Qatar finalized a prisoner swap deal with the Nusra Front, with the only remaining obstacle being the timing. But last month, Nusra's emir in Qalamoun Abu Malik al-Talli set new conditions to release the captives, demanding the Lebanese government release five prisoners in exchange for four servicemen as a first stage. The second stage would see the release of the rest of the hostages after Syrian refugees return to villages attacked by Hezbollah. A security source told The Daily Star Monday: "The problem is that you are not dealing with a state, you are negotiating with a group that could be setting these new conditions to put pressure on the Lebanese side."
