By Alessandria Masi

BEIRUT-- A senior commander in Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al Qaeda, and at least eight other militants were killed Wednesday, in an operation jointly conducted in northeastern Lebanon by the Lebanese army and the Shiite armed group Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Abou Firas al-Jebbeh, a Nusra leader and three of his men, who were residing in Wadi Khalid, just outside the border town of Arsal, were among those killed.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's parliament speaker called for an understanding between two Christian politicians over the presidency that has been vacant for 18 months, saying continued political deadlock was only serving terrorism.

The call by Nabih Berri, one of Lebanon's most powerful politicians, was directed at Christian leaders Michel Aoun and Suleiman Franjieh, who were due to meet on Wednesday and expected to discuss the presidential crisis.

Franjieh, a friend and ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been proposed as president in a power-sharing deal tabled by Saad al-Hariri, a Sunni Muslim politician backed by Saudi Arabia.

Reuters

BEIRUT: Talks aimed at ending Lebanon's 18-month-long presidential vacuum are not going smoothly, a Christian leader said on Tuesday, casting doubt on the outlook for a power-sharing proposal aimed at reviving the paralysed government.

The proposal tabled by Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri marks the most serious effort yet to resolve a political crisis that has been exacerbated by region-wide conflict.

Under the plan, Hariri would become prime minister, while Suleiman Franjieh, a friend and ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, would become Lebanese head of state.

A senior member of Hariri's Future Movement has warned that the alternative to the deal could be civil strife.

\

AFP

Kobayat, Lebanon: Lebanese soldier George Al Khouri cried for days after Al Qaida executed a fellow captive during one of the lowest points of his 16-month ordeal as a hostage of the group.

Now back home in northern Lebanon, he can barely believe he is free and safe.

“My God, how long I’ve waited to see my son Michael,” he says in the living room of his home in Kobayat, with his mother, his wife and their second son Andrew seated around him.

The 30-year-old was among several dozen Lebanese police and soldiers kidnapped by Al Qaida’s Syrian affiliate Al Nusra Front and Daesh from the border town of Arsal in August 2014.

After months of failed negotiations and desperate pleas from their relatives, Al Nusra last week freed the 16 captives it held in exchange for the release of prisoners in Lebanese jails and aid.

.

Al Khouri joined the army in 2004, to reluctantly fulfil his compulsory service, but stayed on after landing an easy posting at a military hospital.