Lebanese army clashes with Syrian al-Qaida rebels in Tripoli

TRIPOLI, Lebanon, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Fighting between the Lebanese armed forces and Islamist militants erupted in Tripoli Friday night, raging throughout the weekend and resulting in threats to captive Lebanese soldiers.

Two civilians and 10 soldiers have been killed in the clashes so far, which on Sunday saw the Lebanese army commit tanks and commando forces to the Sunni-populated Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood, the scene of the heaviest fighting. The fighters are said to be affiliated with the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Before spreading to Tripoli, the fighting was sparked Wednesday in the Dinniyeh region to the east, where Lebanese army forces captured a local militant leader and killed three fighters.

The clashes are the largest since August, when Lebanese troops battled IS- and Nusra Front-connected militants in the border town of Arsal.

The Nusra Front -- al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria -- captured approximately 30 Lebanese soldiers in that fighting, and has threatened to execute captive soldiers if the Lebanese army does not halt its current offensive in Tripoli.

"We warn the Lebanese army against any military escalation targeting Sunnis in Tripoli," the group said in a statement. "We call on it to lift its siege and accept a peaceful solution, or else we will be forced in the coming hours to bring closure to the issue of the soldiers we are holding hostage, given that they are prisoners of war."

In September, the Nusra Front released a video depicting the execution of a Lebanese soldier. The group warned the Lebanese government against raiding Syrian refugees in Arsal and assisting Hezbollah, a Shia militant group fighting alongside the government of Bashar Assad in Syria.