The Lebanese Army raided the northern Akkar town of Khirbet Daoud and arrested three suspected militants connected to a soldier that defected to the Nusra Front in 2014, a security source said.
The source said Kamel, Khaled and Ghaddaf Saadeddine were arrested around 4 a.m. in the early morning raid.
The three suspects are related to Atef Saadeddine, a former Lebanese Army soldier who is wanted on charges of terrorism and desertion after he defected to the Nusra Front in July 2014, the source told The Daily Star.
In a video posted a few days after his disappearance on Nusra Front's official YouTube channel, Atef, who hails from the province of Akkar, shows his Lebanese Army identification card and accuses the Army of taking orders from Hezbollah and discriminating against Lebanese Sunnis.
Kamel and Khaled are Atef's cousins, according to the source. Ghaddaf is his brother.
The three are wanted on charges of belonging to terrorist organizations, according to the source.
