The Lebanese army detained eight Syrian nationals on Wednesday for illegally entering Lebanon and being suspected of having links with an offshoot of al-Qaida, the military said in a statement.
The army "seized eight Syrians in the eastern border town of Arsal for illegal entry. Some of them were driving unregistered cars and motorcycles and are suspected of belonging to terrorist groups." Later, the state-run National News Agency reported that the detained Syrians were suspected of having links to the al- Qaida affiliate "Al-Nusra Front," a group that has spearheaded the rebels' fighting in Syria since 2012.
Arsal, a predominantly Sunni border town, backs the war against Assad and has been a conduit of weapons and rebels into Syria. It' s also known to have harbored a huge number of displaced Syrians fleeing the conflict.
Syria has been gripped by deadly conflict since March 2011. Over 160,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced.