Lebanese soldiers killed by Daesh receive state funeral

Marking the Day of Mourning as the identities and bodies of 10 soldiers are discovered and they are laid to rest

Relatives of the 10 Lebanese soldiers who were kidnapped and murdered by Daesh in 2014, stand during their funeral ceremony in Beirut, Lebanon on 8 September 2017 [Furkan Güldemir/Anadolu Agency]

Lebanese soldiers carry the coffins of the 10 Lebanese soldiers who were kidnapped and murdered by Daesh in 2014 during their funeral ceremony in Beirut, Lebanon on 8 September 2017 [Furkan Güldemir/Anadolu Agency]

Funeral ceremony of the 10 Lebanese soldiers, who were kidnapped by Daesh on 2014 and murdered, held in front of the Defence Ministry of Lebanon in Beirut, Lebanon on September 08, 2017. ( Furkan Güldemir – Anadolu Agency )

A state funeral was held yesterday in Beirut for ten Lebanese military personnel kidnapped by the Daesh terrorist group – and later executed – in 2014.

Held at the headquarters of the Lebanese Defence Ministry, the funeral was attended by President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

On 2 August 2014, Daesh announced it had taken 11 Lebanese soldiers hostage near the small Lebanese town of Arsal on the Syrian border.

Earlier this week, Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun informed the families of ten of the missing soldiers that the men had been killed after their bodies were found in areas identified by the terrorist group.

While the identities of the ten men were confirmed by DNA testing, the fate of the eleventh soldier remains unknown.

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Addressing the slain soldiers’ families at yesterday funeral, President Aoun vowed to “achieve the objectives they were martyred for”.

For his part, army commander Aoun (no relation to the president) declared that “from now on, the army will remain deployed on the eastern border” – a reference to Lebanon’s border with war-torn Syria.

Al-Hariri had declared yesterday a national day of mourning after meeting with the families of the deceased soldiers.

Since 19 August, the Lebanese army has been waging an offensive aimed at dislodging Daesh militants from mountainous areas near the Syrian border.

Earlier this month, army troops – along with Hezbollah fighters – wrested the border town of Jaroud Arsal from the terrorist group.

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