Qatar said that it would no longer be able to continue mediating the release of around two dozen Lebanese soldiers held captive since August by Al-Nusra Front, after the terrorist group killed a third captive in a row.
Qatar's decision to halt the negotiations, requested by the Lebanese government, comes "according to humanitarian concerns, and due to Qatar's commitment to maintaining the lives of the innocent," a statement by its Foreign Ministry said.
Qatar went on to express extreme sorrow over the killing of the soldier, Ali Bazal, and reiterated its commitment to all diplomatic efforts aimed at saving lives.
Bazal, who was killed on Friday and is the third to receive the fate, was being kept by the group in the northeastern Lebanese city of Arsal.
Immediately after he was killed, the group announced that it would be killing another soon unless the Lebanese government release two women, currently being held in prison, affiliated to Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State (ISIL), both of whom are fighting in Syria.
The two women include the ex-wife of Abu Baker Al-Baghdadi, the self-declared Caliph of the Islamic State, and the other is the wife of Abu Ali Al-Shishani, an Al-Nusra commander.