Jihadists are holding the captives from the Lebanese army and police in huge caves on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal, al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported on Sunday.

The daily said that the soldiers and members of the Internal Security Forces abducted by the Islamic State terrorist group are held in a cave in Wadi al-Rahwa while the ones taken captive by the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front are present in Wadi Mira.

Two members from al-Fleiti family, who were abducted in tit-for-tat kidnappings between Sunnis and Shiites, were released by their abductors on Saturday night, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The kidnappers failed however to release several others from al-Hujeiri family who were taken captive in the Bekaa Valley's North.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea shrugged off the deterioration of the security situation in the country, saying the biggest danger facing Lebanon lies in the disintegration of state institutions.

The danger posed by jihadists and battles are so far limited, Geagea told the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

Speaker Nabih Berri was on Sunday optimistic that the rival March 8 and 14 alliances would attend a legislative session to approve pending issues.

In remarks to An Nahar daily, Berri said: “There is a positive atmosphere.”

A suicide car bomber killed on Saturday night three people at a checkpoint manned by Hizbullah in the district of Baalbek that lies in eastern Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported.

However, a Hizbullah-run TV station reported later that the suicide bomber did not kill anyone at the checkpoint. There was no immediate way to reconcile the contradictory reports.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam chaired on Saturday a security meeting at the Grand Serail to address the security developments taking place in the northeastern town of Arsal.

Salam stressed after the talks: “The government stands united by the army in its open war against terrorists and it rejects blackmail in the case of abducted soldiers.”

Five people who hail from the Bekaa border town of Arsal were kidnapped on Saturday, after al-Nusra Front published the video of the execution of Lebanese soldier Mohammed Hamiyeh.

According to the National News Agency, the five are members of the al-Hujeiri and Fleiti families.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam reiterated on Saturday the importance of internal unity in confronting the threat of terrorism.

He said after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri: “We need to stand united against terrorism and we should not grant terrorists the chance to create division among us.”

Several terrorists were killed and a number of others were wounded overnight after the army shelled their positions in the outskirts of the northeastern region of Arsal.

The army announced in a statement on Saturday that it had shelled the positions of terrorists on the outskirts of the town, making direct hits.

An Israeli surveillance drone crashed in southern Lebanon on Saturday, reported various media outlets.

They said that the MK surveillance drone crashed in the town of Sarda in the Marjeyoun district.