Two suspects were arrested Thursday in the northeastern border region of Arsal on charges of involvement in militant attacks against the army, the Army Command said.
“Following investigations and surveillance, an army force arrested in the Arsal region a man called Mahmoud Sultan and nicknamed Malek al-Breidi for his involvement along with others -- including the detainee Mohammed al-Hujeiri aka Kahroub – in acts of terror and attacks on army posts,” the army said.
The man is also accused of “transferring arms to terrorists positioned in the region's outskirts, involvement in armed robberies, and attacks on citizens.”
The army also arrested Syrian national Omar Mahmoud Othman, who was accompanying Sultan.
Othman was wanted on charges of “belonging to a terrorist group and taking part in the aforementioned crimes,” the military added.
Extremist militants from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and Daesh are entrenched in Arsal's outskirts along the Lebanese-Syrian border.
The two groups overran the town of Arsal in August 2014 and engaged in deadly battles with the army during which they abducted more than 35 troops and policemen.
Four captive servicemen have been executed and nine are still being held by Daesh.
