The military has begun an investigation into an Army unit that allegedly recorded the beating of a detainee who worked with militant Sheikh Ahmad Assir, seen in a video posted online Thursday.
The video shows around a dozen soldiers and their commander outdoors in a ring around a handcuffed detainee asking him about his affiliation with Assir before hitting and kicking him.
Several soldiers were seen recording the incident with their phones.
The soldiers appear to be wearing Lebanese Army equipment and military patches, but the authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.
A military source told The Daily Star that the Army unit seen in the video will be investigated.
The Army is also expected to issue a statement on the incident soon, the source said.
Assir and his militants in Abra, east of the southern city of Sidon, fought a two-day battle over the weekend against the military that killed 18 soldiers and more than 40 gunmen.
Assir’s whereabouts are unknown.
The detainee is seen sitting on the ground in the video while soldiers ask him where he was during the fighting and if he was paid by Assir.
The soldiers' questions become more hostile before they start laughing, call the detainee a liar and begin to kick him as he curls into the fetal position.
An older solider in the group, apparently in charge, leads the questioning and looks on during the beating before he tells the troops to stop.
