Report: Swap Takes Place Overnight between Hizbullah, Syrian Opposition in Zabadani

A swap took place overnight between Hizbullah and rebel fighters in Syria's al-Zabadani region, revealed LBCI television on Tuesday.

It said that the exchange saw the release of the corpses of a Hizbullah member and a Syrian soldier.

A Syrian officer was also released from captivity.

In return, the rebels received the corpses of seven members of the Ahrar al-Sham group, said LBCI.

The identities of the corpses and the detainee were not disclosed.

A swap had taken place in Zabadani in December, which saw the evacuation of over 120 rebels from the area through Lebanon to Turkey.

Simultaneously, two planes took off from Turkey's Hatay airport to Beirut, carrying 335 people evacuated from the mainly Shiite Syrian villages of Fuaa and Kafraya.

Syria's regime has agreed to several ceasefires with rebel groups in the past but December's evacuation plan was one of the most elaborate in the nearly five-year war.

It was the first to involve crossing through Turkey and Lebanon.

Fuaa and Kafraya have been besieged for months by the rebels.

Pro-government forces and Hizbullah launched an offensive to try to recapture Zabadani in July, prompting a rebel alliance -- including members of al-Nusra Front -- to besiege the Idlib villages of Fuaa and Kafraya.

Hizbullah has sent thousands of fighters across the border to support Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces against the Islamist-led militants fighting to topple him. The group's intervention has helped the Syrian army recapture most towns in the Qalamoun region near the border with Lebanon.

Hundreds of Hizbullah fighters have been reportedly killed in the conflict to date.

In total, more than 240,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

M.T.

G.K.