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Syrian Civil War (Graphic Photos/Vid Not Allowed)

How convenient. The opposition was homegrown so you let the terrorists roam and create their terrorist havens, suddenly you're the good guy (by "you" I mean Assad). If this works, it would be amazing and it would set a dangerous precedent. Btw, the spillover was from Iraq, not into it. Meanwhile Iraqis are fighting Syrians instead of rescuing their cities.
In all fairness nobody knows if Assad is the "evil" as presented by the press or he is a real "good guy" that is getting a bad wrap. The only version of him we have is the one fed to us by the West.
 
Picture and map of the upcoming Russian air base at Al Shayrat

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NOW.


Published: 1/12/2015 10:50 AM

Lebanon, Nusra swap prisoners

Sixteen servicemen were freed Tuesday after being held hostage for almost a year-and-a-half.

BEIRUT – Lebanese servicemen held hostage by the Al-Nusra Front since August 2014 have been released as part of a broader prisoner swap deal between the Al-Qaeda affiliate and Lebanon.

The sixteen security officers captured by Nusra arrived Tuesday morning to the exchange point in Wadi Hmeid outside Arsal, where masked Nusra Front members bearing arms had gathered to monitor the swap.
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  • At the same time, celebrations erupted in Downtown Beirut’s Riad al-Solh Square among the relatives of the kidnapped men, who have held regular protests for the past 16 months demanding Lebanon’s government act to secure the release of their loved ones.

    General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim, who has served as Beirut's pointman for the negotiations to secure the deal, arrived after 10:00 a.m. in Wadi Hmeid to supervise the exchange. Two hours later the freed Internal Security Forces and Lebanese Armed Forces servicemen were handed over to the Lebanese authorities.

    The freed hostages arrived to scenes of revelry in the nearby town of Labweh, where residents and relatives showered the liberated men with rice as they were transported to the base of the LAF's 8th Brigade base.

    The deal kicked off in the morning when a General Security team accompanying Lebanon’s Red Cross picked up the body of Mohammad Hamiyeh, one of two LAF soldiers executed by Nusra.

    Nusra brought their hostages to the Wadi Hmeid swap point—where Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera aired exclusive coverage of the exchange alongside Lebanon’s MTV—after Lebanon transported a group of Islamist prisoners to the Arsal outskirt.

    Qatar mediated the swap deal, which saw the release of Ola al-Oqaily—the wife of ISIS commander Abu Ali Al-Shishani—as well as Saja Dulaimi—the ex-wife of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

    Following her release shortly before midday, Dulaimi announced that she would return to Beirut, and then fly on to Istanbul, stressing that she had divorced Baghdadi six years ago.

    Another 11 prisoners were released by Lebanese authorities, including Joumana Hmayed—who was arrested in February 2014 while trying to transport an explosive-laden—as well as Samar al-Hindi, Leila Abdel Karim al-Najjar, Hussein Hujeiri, Ibrahim al-Halak, Mohammad Yaseen, Mohammad Rahhal, Mohammad Najm, Mohammad Yaseen, Mohammad Rahhal, Mohammad Najm, Mohammad Yahya, Abdel Majid al-Ghadban, Abdellatif Asaad, Khaldeya Zeineih, Hudhaifah Noah al-Bunni and Khaldeya, Alaa, Noor, Israa and Sarah Sharara.

    The full details of the swap deal and the concessions and efforts needed to achieve it remain unknown though.

    Fate of ISIS prisoners

    The emotional roller coaster for the relatives of the 16 servicemen freed by Nusra came to an end Tuesday, however the fate of the nine security officers kidnapped by ISIS remains unknown.

    ISIS had already executed two soldiers in the past year-and-a-half.

    Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi told Al-Jazeera that the Lebanese government "has no information relating the hostages held by ISIS."

    Meanwhile, General Security chief Ibrahim expressed his willingness to launch negotiations with ISIS to secure the freedom of Lebanon's remaining hostages in the Arsal outskirts.

    Both ISIS and Nusra had seized over 30 servicemen in early August 2014 when they briefly raided the border town of Arsal.

    Reports of an impending swap deal began to circulate Friday afternoon, as Lebanese authorities began to move Islamist prisoners out of Roumieh Prison and close roads around the flashpoint border town.

    The Qatari-brokered deal had looked set to go through on Sunday evening, however last minute complications set the process back two days after Nusra upped its demands.

    Celebrations
    Lebanon feted the returning servicemen as top officials welcomed them in a ceremony in the government’s seat of power in Dowtown Beirut’s Grand Serail.

    “Our heroes endured and persevered,” Premier Tammam Salam said at a reception attended by the country’s defense, interior, justice and health ministers.

    The PM also extended special thanks to Qatar, which was represented at the ceremony by Doha’s envoy, for its role in mediating the swap deal.

    General Security chief Ibrahim, for his part, extended thanks to Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, but said he would not go into details on the matter.

    The servicemen—freshly saved and in their uniforms—then headed to Downtown Beirut’s Riad al-Solh Square accompanied by their relatives to celebrate the end of their hostage saga.

    Lebanese leaders across the political spectrum all hailed Tuesday’s events, while also remembering the security officers who were executed and those still held hostage by ISIS.

    “We will knock all the doors and we won't spare any means to help release the soldiers” in ISIS’s hands, Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk announced.
 

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