BEIRUT: Syria's al Qaeda offshoot Nusra said it killed a captive Lebanese soldier in retaliation for the arrest by Lebanese authorities of women identified as wives of militants.
The soldier was one of more than two dozen members of the security forces taken captive by militants affiliated to the Nusra Front and Islamic State (IS) when they staged an attack on the Lebanese border town of Arsal in August.
Lebanese authorities earlier this week said they had detained a wife of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the wive of a Nusra front leader..
Nusra warned in the statement they would execute another prisoner among the captive soldiers "within a short period" if the Lebanese authorities did not release the women captives.
Shortly after the execution of Ali al-Bazzal was announced, protesters blocked a highway near his home village of Bazalia not far from Arsal. Armed men also appeared in the streets there, security sources said.
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