Another Lebanese soldier has defected to al-Nusra Front, media reports said on Friday evening, only hours after the group published a video in which the soldier Mohammed Antar announced that he had "joined the jihadists."
"The soldier Abdullah Ahmed Shehadeh, who hails from the Akkar town of Mashha, has defected to al-Nusra Front," al-Jadeed TV reported, noting that he was a member of the Fifth Intervention Regiment.
"He telephoned his family to inform them that he has joined al-Nusra Front and his family is trying to communicate with him to convince him to return," al-Jadeed said.
As Safir newspaper also reported the defection of "the soldier A. Sh., who hails from Akkar's Mashha."
Earlier on Friday, al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's Syria affiliate, published a video showing a Lebanese army soldier announcing that he has defected to the extremist group to “defend the Sunni community” and in protest at Hizbullah's “practices.”