Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate has offered to release three Lebanese soldiers in exchange for an ex-wife of the leader of the jihadist "Islamic State" (ISIS) group and four other female prisoners.
Al-Nusra Front, which along with IS has held 25 Lebanese soldiers and policemen hostage for almost a year, issued the offer in a statement aired on Lebanon's MTV television on Saturday night, according to AFP.
"If five of our sisters leave prison... we will hand over three soldiers in exchange," said Abu Malek al-Shami, Al-Nusra's "emir" in the Syrian region of Qalamun bordering Lebanon.