Lebanon buses 400 Daesh fighters to stronghold

Militants given safe passage to east Syria after agreeing to return bodies of soldiers

BEIRUT— Lebanon began transporting an estimated 400 armed Daesh fighters and family members from its northern border to the militants’ stronghold in eastern Syria on Monday, according to official sources in Lebanon and Syria.

The militants were transferred as part of a deal between Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and its Syrian and Lebanese enemies. Under the agreement, the bodies of eight people believed to be Lebanese soldiers were to be returned, while Daesh militants were to receive 17 air-conditioned buses, 11 ambulances and a free pass through territory held by the Syrian government.

Hezbollah, the Shiite-dominated group whose militia was among the parties to the deal, announced through its War Media Centre that the transfer of the Daesh fighters had begun Monday morning. First to go were 25 wounded fighters in ambulances, followed by busloads of fighters and others.

The Syrian state news agency, SANA, also confirmed that the transfer of fighters was underway.

Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, the Lebanese intelligence chief who was the government’s chief negotiator in try- ing to win the return of Lebanon’s captured soldiers, defended the arrangement.

“The return of Daesh militants in air-conditioned cars to their countries is permissible because Lebanon adheres to the philosophy of a state that does not exact revenge,” he said in a radio interview, according to the Lebanese newspaper the Daily Star.

Nine Lebanese soldiers were taken prisoner during fighting in the Arsal area of northeast Lebanon in 2014. Since then, there had been little information on their fate, even though relatives have staged numerous protests in Beirut, the capital.

Just over a week ago, the Lebanese army launched an offensive in the border area to pressure Daesh mili- tants into negotiating the soldiers’ release. Simultaneously, Hezbollah and their allies in the Syrian government began an offensive in the same area. That the operations coincided was unplanned, they said.

Both sides declared a ceasefire with Daesh on Sunday to allow for the recovery of the service members. Ibrahim said it appeared that the eight bodies handed over were those of the missing soldiers. No information about the ninth missing soldier was provided, but reports suggest he may have joined Daesh during his captivity.

It is the first time the group is known to have negotiated a settlement for a large group to stop fighting and to give up territory.