Nine months after his death in clashes with jihadis in northeast Lebanon, Army soldier Ali Qassem Ali was laid to rest in his hometown in the Bekaa Valley Sunday.
The body was handed to Lebanese authorities by ISIS (Daesh) on May 1 and underwent DNA tests to verify the soldier's identity.
Ali was killed by ISIS militants during the clashes of Arsal in August, and his body was taken by ISIS, who also holding nine Lebanese servicemen captive.
Ali’s mother collapsed in tears as the coffin reached the parents’ residence in Hawsh Snid, another Bekaa village.
The funeral’s convoy departed from Beirut at 10 am, according to an Army statement.
The military music unit played the goodbye symphony for their fallen colleague as others carried the coffin over their shoulders, walking around the soldier's lifelong home.
The body was then driven to as-Sayyeda Khawla holy site in Baalbek and will be laid to rest at 5 p.m. at his hometown Khreibeh.
By Nidal al-Solh
[This story has been edited from the source material.]
