The Islamic State posted video of a captive Lebanese soldier pleading for the release of Islamist inmates from Roumieh Prison. The Al Nusrah Front threatened to kill captive Lebanese soldiers if Hezbollah does not withdraw from fighting in Qalamoun in Syria. A Hezbollah official warned that the Islamic State intends to take over Lebanon as well as Iraq and Syria. Fugitive cleric Sirajeddine Zureiqat, speaking for the Abdulllah Azzam Brigades, warned that the battle has not yet started in Lebanon and blamed Hezbollah. The government is said to be thinking of freeing certain Roumieh prison inmates to effect the release of Lebanese troops held captive by Islamist groups. After Islamic State flags were burned, crosses were torched, and churches defaced with Islamic State graffiti in Tripoli, a Christian lawmaker warned citizens against becoming engulfed in “sectarian provocation”; Justice Minister Rifi called for an investigation.
