Prisoner swap frees Lebanese soldiers and Islamic State leader's ex-wife

Beirut: Al-Qaeda's Syrian wing freed 16 Lebanese soldiers and policemen on Tuesday in exchange for the release of jailed Islamists, including the ex-wife of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The Nusra Front seized the Lebanese 16 months ago during an attack on the Lebanese border town of Arsal mounted together with IS, which is still believed to be holding nine soldiers captured in the incursion.

Lebanese policeman Abbas Msheik is carried on his friends' shoulders as he holds his son Mohammed during a celebration of his release from captivity in Beirut.Credit: AP

The exchange, brokered by Qatar, cast new light on the Gulf state's channels to the Nusra Front, a powerful player in the Syrian civil war that has been designated a terrorist group by the United Nations and United States.

Live TV footage from an area between Lebanon and Syria showed the Lebanese captives in vehicles accompanied by masked men armed with assault rifles and waving the Nusra Front flag before they were released to the Red Cross.

A released Lebanese policeman is kissed by his wife upon his arrival at the government palace in Beirut.Credit: AP

Thirteen Islamists in Lebanese jails, including Saja al-Dulaimi, the ex-wife of Baghdadi, were also released. Ms Dulaimi, fully veiled, was shown in live TV footage from the area with her three children who were with her in prison.

Nusra Front fighters were shown kissing and hugging the sons of Ms Dulaimi, who was arrested by the Lebanese authorities a year ago. Speaking to al-Jazeera, she said her wish was to return to Beirut and then to leave for Turkey.

More than a year ago, Lebanese authorities arrested Ms Dulaimi, who was then pregnant, accusing her of secretly transferring cash to militant groups.

She is believed to have wed Baghdadi about seven years ago, before he became head of IS, which now controls territory spanning Iraq and Syria. Their union lasted only a few months, but the couple had a daughter, the officials said.

Lebanese Druze women stand next to posters with pictures of the soldiers and policemen kidnapped and in some cases killed by the Nusra Front and Islamic State.Credit: AP

While held in a Lebanese military prison, Ms Dulaimi also gave birth to a boy from a different man, the officials said.

"We accomplished the entire agreement with Nusra. We received our heroic soldiers and we are on our way back to Beirut," said top Lebanese security official Abbas Ibrahim, who oversaw the swap, but he added: "This joy not complete until the return of those kidnapped by Daesh. We are ready to negotiate with Daesh if we find someone to negotiate with."

The released Lebanese policemen and soldiers with Lebanese and Qatari officials at the government palace in Beirut.Credit: AP

Daesh is an Arabic acronym for IS.

The Nusra Front fighters chanted "God is great" as they arrived with the captives in preparation for the swap. The jihadist group is known to have executed four of those it captured.

A Lebanese soldier who was kidnapped by the Nusra Front embraces his mother upon arrival in Beirut.Credit: AP

The Arsal incursion was a dramatic and bloody example of spillover from the 4½-year-old Syrian conflict. The army fought several days of lethal battles to drive the militants from the town not far from where Tuesday's swap took place.

The exchange began with the Nusra Front releasing the body of one of the Lebanese soldiers it had killed in captivity, Mohamed Hamieh.

The released men are kissed by Lebanese and Qatari officials upon their arrival in Beirut.Credit: AP

The freed soldiers and policemen were carried aloft during celebrations in the town of Labweh, near the Lebanese border, where they briefly stopped on their way to Beirut. Politicians from across the political spectrum congratulated the men on their release.

Relatives of the captives celebrated at a tented sit-in they have held near the government headquarters in Beirut since last year to press for negotiations.

A relative of the released soldiers and policemen dances with a Lebanese flag at the tent village set up in Beirut to protest their continued captivity.Credit: AP

"I was born again today, this is a rebirth for me and my brother. It has been a year and five months of agony for the soldiers' parents, my parents and me," said Marie Khoury, the sister of freed soldier George Khoury.

But some Lebanese expressed concern over the swap, especially over al-Qaeda-linked militants finalising the deal inside Lebanon.

"How can anyone accept that such a group can operate openly like this inside Lebanon?" said Ali Khoder, 27, a resident of Beirut.

Qatar has been involved in efforts to mediate the release of the captives for a year or more. A previous effort to secure their release broke down a year ago after one of the captives was killed. The Qatar National News Agency said the successful mediation followed a request from the Lebanese government.

Qatar has been a major sponsor of the insurgency against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, supporting rebels including groups deemed moderate by the US. It has denied backing Nusra Front or Islamic State.

Qatar's foreign minister told Reuters in June the country did not deal with either group, but said the door should be kept open for Syrians with the Nusra Front if they decided to leave al-Qaeda.

Reuters, Washington Post