Hezbollah agrees deal to handover 308 IS fighters

BEIRUT, Aug 28 (KUNA) -- Lebanese group Hezbollah will handover 670 prisoners, including 308 members of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, allowing them to cross the borders into Syria based on a ceasefire deal struck between both sides.
The deal, announced by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a televised speech on Monday, came after fighting between Syrian regime-backed Hezbollah and IS fighters along the Lebanese-Syrian borders.
Those transferred will be granted safe passage within Syria after Hezbollah negotiated the handover with Syrian regime forces.
In return, IS has accepted Hezbollah's full terms and conditions, he said, namely revealing the fate of kidnapped Lebanese soldiers, ensuring the exit of all IS fighters from Lebanon and the safe return of a Hezbollah prisoner.
Under the deal, IS will also ensure the return of the remains of a number of Hezbollah fighters and another from Iran killed by the group.
Furthermore, Nasrallah said that he had received assurances, during negotiations for the deal, that the group did not abduct two Christian bishops and a journalist, who recently went missing in Syria. (end) wsm.sd