REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BEIRUT -- A ceasefire between the Lebanese army and Islamist militants fighting near the Syrian border was extended on Wednesday for 24 hours, Muslim clerics mediating between the sides said.

In a televised news conference, they also said three Lebanese soldiers taken captive by the militants had been

released, and that the militants had started withdrawing from the border town of Arsal.

The clerics would also start negotiating the release of the remaining members of the security forces being held in the town,

saying they numbered 27 - 10 soldiers and 17 policemen.

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