IS militants reach eastern Syria following Lebanon deal

BEIRUT – Syria's state news agency says buses taking hundreds of Islamic State militants and their families from the border area between Lebanon and Syria have arrived to eastern Syria.

SANA says the buses with the militants and their families arrived on Tuesday in Deir el-Zour province, an IS-stronghold.

Some 600 militants were allowed to leave as part of a deal, negotiated by Lebanon's Hezbollah, in exchange for identifying the location of the remains of Lebanese soldiers captured by IS in 2014, and later killed. The deal has provoked controversy in Lebanon, as some voiced opposition to negotiations with the militants

IS' departure leaves the border between Syria and Lebanon free of extremists for the first time in years.