Nusra Frees Hezbollah Fighter Following 'Deal': Group

Lebanon's Hezbollah group on Tuesday announced that one of its members who was being held captive by a Syrian militant group had been released on Tuesday as part of a swap deal.



"Following weeks of talks with the abductors, Emad Ayyad was freed on Tuesday in exchange for the release of two militants held by Hezbollah," the powerful Shiite group said in a statement.



The release did not identify the two militants or the name of the Syrian group that had been holding Ayyad or how long he had been kept captive.



However, a source close to the Lebanese group told The Anadolu Agency that Ayyad had been held by the Al-Nusra Front in Syria.



In August, the Al-Nusra Front, which is fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, killed and captured a number of Lebanese soldiers – including Shiite troops – in Lebanon's border town of Arsal.



During clashes with the Lebanese army, Al-Nusra managed to capture 18 Lebanese troops, including one who was subsequently executed by the group.



The Syria-based militant groups demand the withdrawal from Syria of Hezbollah fighters, who for the past two years have openly fought alongside the Al-Assad regime.



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