Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and the patriarchs of the Orient are expected to hold talks with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of a conference in Washington.

The conference, which will be held on September 9,10 and 11, aims at discussing the situation in the Middle East and the conditions of Christians, As Safir newspaper reported on Thursday.

Two Lebanese jihadists reportedly beheaded army sergeant Ali al-Sayyed, who was taken captive after Islamist gunmen overran the northeastern border town of Arsal.

According to al-Akhbar newspaper published on Thursday, the masked man, who appears in the photos purporting al-Sayyed's beheading and his accomplice are two Lebanese nationals.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday called for fortifying the “Lebanese domestic front,” warning that some parties might exploit religion to create a fertile environment for “the growth and proliferation of extremist ideologies.”

Sisi voiced his remarks during a meeting in Cairo with Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat, who was accompanied by a delegation from his Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc.

The Syrian army has bombed and destroyed explosive-rigged vehicles that were “destined for Lebanese territory” as part of a plot aimed at waging simultaneous attacks on “civilian and military places,” a media report said on Wednesday.

A car carrying a license plate of the U.S. state of New Jersey appears in the TV report, which was filmed in an unspecified location in the countryside of the Syrian Qalamun border region and broadcast by Hizbullah's al-Manar television.

A Syrian man was arrested by the army on Wednesday and a quantity of arms and ammunition was seized at his house, amid a continued crackdown on Syrians residing in Lebanon.

An army statement said troops raided the residence of “Hussam Sobhi Qarraja in the Tripoli area of al-Zahriyeh where he was arrested.”

Copenhagen police on Wednesday raided four addresses with ties to a charity suspected of selling stickers to raise funds for the Islamic State.

A 35-year-old stateless man born in Libya, a 30-year-old Danish woman of Lebanese origin and a 50-year old Danish woman were questioned over the sale of stickers that appeared to be a spoof on the yellow ribbons which are traditionally sold to support Danish soldiers stationed overseas.

The March 14 General Secretariat noted on Wednesday that reactions to the alliance's initiative regarding the presidential deadlock were “too hasty,” while warning that rejecting it “threatens the unity of state institutions.”

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The March 8 camp's rejection of the proposal will lead to chaos on the border and a disregard of international resolutions, which will lead to the collapse of the state.”

A major blaze broke out Wednesday on the seaside road between the Hyundai firm and the Jamil Gemayel port in the Zalka area.

Civil Defense crews and vehicles managed to quickly put out the flames and halt their spread to fuel tanks in the area.

Speaker Nabih Berri voiced calls on Wednesday to confront the danger of terrorism threatening Lebanon, and has prepared a memorandum on the protection of the minorities and Christians of the Levant.

"We must face the terrorist attack threatening Lebanon and its diversity. We must not persist in disabling the state institutions,” media reports quoted Berri as saying.

The Maronite Bishops Councils condemned on Wednesday the recent desecration of religious symbols in Lebanon, describing such acts as “irresponsible.”

It said after its monthly meeting: “The authorities should put an end to such incidents and take action against the perpetrators.”