BEIRUT, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday that the country has identified the bodies of its soldiers found from the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal.
Aoun made the announcement when telling relatives of the servicemen killed by Islamic State group (IS) at a closed-door meeting. He said DNA tests have matched the remains of the soldiers' bodies.
Thirty servicemen were abducted by al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front and the IS when the gunmen briefly overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August 2014.
Sixteen held by al-Nusra were freed in December 2015 through a Qatari-mediated deal that also included a prisoner swap to release a number of inmates from Lebanese jails.
The two groups had previously executed four of the hostages.
Ten servicemen remained in the IS captivity until their remains were retrieved during an army battle against the extremists on Lebanon's eastern border.
