Al-Nusra executed Lebanese soldier

The al-Nusra Front, Al Qaeda's wing in Syria, has killed a Lebanese soldier and vowed to kill more in retaliation to the arrest of women by the Lebanese authorities.

In an online video Friday by an account affiliated with the radical group, a Nusra commander said the group killed policeman Ali Bazzal because Ola Mithqal al-Oqaily, Nusra commander Anas Sharkas' wife and their children were not released.

The group also cited reason that Saja al-Dulaimi, ex-wife of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is being held by the Lebanese authorities, Al Jazeera reported Saturday.

"If the sisters that were unjustly arrested are not released, then after a short period of time the death sentence will be executed against another prisoner we hold," said Anas Sharkas, who used the Facebook page to upload the video and is a senior Nusra Front commander.

"We will not accept anything but the release of all our women and children...One of my children is four years old, the second is less than six-month old. How dare you arrest them with their mother?" he asked.

The army had confirmed the arrest of Shishani's wife and her brother Dec 3, in what could be seen as an attempt by the Lebanese government to obtain leverage in ongoing negotiations over the release of 29 soldiers held by the Nusra Front and IS since August.

Syria's civil war has ignited sectarian tensions between Lebanon's Sunnis and Shia Muslims, with regular battles between IS-linked groups and the army.