Bursting at the seams, Lebanon seems to teeter towards an ambiguous and cautious calm as terrorist retreat from Arsal with the fate of abducted troops and security personnel still uncertain. In a surprising turn of events, the number of kidnapped exceeded what media outlets had been publishing and broadcasting during the past days. Sources noted that 22 troops and 17 ISF personnel have fallen into the Nusra Front and Islamic State trap, knowing that Army commander General Jean Qahwaji had confirmed, prior to attending Thursday's cabinet session, that the captives were already out of Arsal, which denotes that gunmen were able to move out of the operation area upon the abduction of the ISF and LAF members.
The seven detainees freed by the Lebanese Army are said to have been holed up in Arsal and were able to contact LAF units at dawn. This was followed by a tight cordon and a successful lightning operation by the Airborne Regiment.
Gunmen had retreated to an area barely two kilometers away from the Syrian borders and returned to their height-located battalions so as to observe the ceasefire implementation and see whether Syrian nationals are subject to harassment upon their retreat. It is said that terrorists had pledged to leave an envelope in Arsal that would directly lead to the abducted soldiers. Yet, the Muslim Scholars Committee confirmed that communication has been lost with the armed groups following their withdrawal.
The town and its outskirts had witnessed the largest medical and residential evacuation, not to mention the arrival of aid convoys under LAF supervision that had been intervening to facilitate said procedures. 1,700 Syrian nationals are also said to have gathered at the Masnaa road to return to Syria. However, this endeavor had failed, hence inciting the convoy to return as Syrian authorities refused entry to its own nationals.
Ministerial sources depicted the army's field achievements in Arsal as encouraging and connoting the LAF's ability to exert control over operation areas while remaining keen on the residents' safety, which had led to prudence in resolving the situation militarily. The army is now besieging Arsal, which is pushing gunmen to flee and withdrawn as they lost the ability to endure shortages within the town's boundaries; hence resorting to abduction operation of LAF and ISF members. The Lebanese Army is now well equipped thanks to the grants as presented by neighboring nations to the extent that the United States had transferred ammunition to the our army.
A legal mechanism is currently being mulled so as to allow the LAF to receive new equipment, said PM Tammam Salam. Defense Minister Samir Mokbel depicted the Saudi three-billion-dollar grant as "frozen".
