Ceasefire halts Syria-Lebanon border fight against IS

A ceasefire has been declared in offensives against so-called Islamic State on the Syria-Lebanon border. The militants have been fighting the Lebanese army on one front, and Hezbollah with the Syrian army on the other. Lebanese sources said IS had “succumbed under fire and asked for negotiations”. Syrian state media, citing a military source, later […]

A ceasefire has been declared in offensives against so-called Islamic State on the Syria-Lebanon border.

The militants have been fighting the Lebanese army on one front, and Hezbollah with the Syrian army on the other.

Lebanese sources said IS had “succumbed under fire and asked for negotiations”.

Syrian state media, citing a military source, later reported that a deal had been reached to move IS militants in the area to eastern Syria.

“We agreed to a deal between Hezbollah and [IS] which will see the rest of its militants evacuated to the eastern region of the Syrian Arab Republic,” Syrian state news agency Sana cited the source as saying.

The pause in operations on Sunday enabled negotiations to take place over nine soldiers taken hostage when terrorists overran the border town of Arsal in 2014, Lebanon’s army said.