Hezbollah, Nusra Front swap prisoners
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BEIRUT -- Three recently captured fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah group were released by Syrian Nusra Front militants early on Wednesday in exchange for three individuals held by Lebanon, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon's General Security, told Reuters.
The completed exchange means that a delayed transfer of around 10,000 Syrian militants, their families and other refugees by bus from Lebanon into rebel-held Syria is expected to begin on Wednesday morning, Ibrahim said.
The transfer was agreed under a ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Nusra last week but delayed by two days while negotiations over the captive exchange took place.
Ibrahim said 120 militants carrying personal weapons would be among the thousands of Syrians set to leave for Syria's rebel-held Idlib province on Wednesday.
Another five captive Hezbollah fighters would then be released once the first convoy reaches its destination in Syria, Ibrahim said.
