Ceasefire with 'Islamic State' on Syria-Lebanon border

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.

Lebanon's army said the pause in operations would enable talks over the fate of kidnapped soldiers.

Nine troops were taken hostage when IS overran the border town of Arsal in 2014. Their fate is currently unknown.

Both ceasefires came into effect at 07:00 (04:00 GMT).

The twin offensives by the Lebanese army, and the Syrian army and its Lebanese militia ally Hezbollah, have advanced towards the border from opposite sides.

Lebanon's army has been fighting IS near the town of 
Ras baalbek, while the Syrian army and Hezbollah attack 
from Syria's west Qalamoun region.


The Lebanese army insists it is not coordinating with Hezbollah, which the US classes as a terrorist group.

Any such liaison would be politically sensitive in Lebanon, 
and could jeopardise US military aid it receives.

Last week, Lebanon and Hezbollah each announced they 
had made significant gains against IS militants, driving 
them back into a smaller part of the mountainous border enclave.

Lebanon has said the nine troops taken hostage by IS 
are its "top concern" in the offensive against an estimated
 600 IS fighters.

Some 30 soldiers and police were captured in Arsal, of 
whom four were executed and a fifth died of his wounds. Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015 with Islamist group Nusra Front.

"There has been no timeframe set" for the truce, an army source told AFP.

"The negotiations are ongoing for IS to withdraw and 
provide information on the fate of the troops."

The area around Arsal is home to tens of thousands of refugees from the war in Syria. The influx has heightened sectarian tensions inside Lebanon since the conflict began in 2011.