BAALBEK, Lebanon: Fears of a sectarian conflict rose in the northern Bekaa Valley Tuesday after the family of a soldier killed by militants around two years ago allegedly kidnapped and executed an east Lebanon man they accused of involvement in the crime.

The body of 20-year-old Hussein Mohammad Hujeiri, the nephew of controversial Arsal Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri, was found Tuesday atop the grave of soldier Mohammad Hamieh in the village of Taraya, in the eastern district of Baalbek.

Maarouf Hamieh, the soldier’s father, implicitly admitted in an interview with Al-Jadeed to carrying out the murder, saying he would not rest until he also takes the head of Mustafa Hujeiri.

“We are going to kill more,” the father said. “The blood of the martyrs will not be wasted … This is just the beginning.

“The killing of Hujeiri is not considered a crime. I’m relieving humanity of a germ like him,” he added, saying that if security forces wanted to come after him, he will evade them.

The military later deployed at the entrances of Arsal and Taraya, and cordoned off Hamieh’s house, whose whereabouts were unknown.

However, the father was later interviewed from an undisclosed location inside the Bekaa Valley. He told the reporter he wished the state had dealt with the issue of captives earlier “so that we wouldn’t have had to have reached this stage.”

The Lebanese Red Cross transported Hujeiri’s corpse to Dar al-Amal hospital in Douris, four hours after it was discovered. It reportedly sustained over 35 gunshots.

Hujeiri’s murder comes in retaliation for Hamieh’s killing by Nusra Front militants during his captivity on Arsal’s outskirts.

Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri, who is wanted by Lebanese authorities over his links to the Nusra Front, previously served as a mediator in the case to release the 37 police and soldiers captured in August 2014.

Hamieh’s family members have blamed Mustafa Hujeiri for the killing, and in the past issued several threats against the fugitive sheikh.

The younger Hujeiri was reported missing early Tuesday.

Hussein worked with a medical group in Arsal. His main job was to deliver medical equipment and medicine to a hospital in the town.

Mohammad Hujeiri, Hussein’s father, told media outlets that his son was innocent, urging the state to arrest his killers.

Hamieh’s body was returned last December in a prisoner swap with the Nusra Front that saw the release of 16 captives.

Mustafa Hujeiri has several terror-related charges and convictions against him, but was never arrested and currently resides in Arsal.

But Sheikh Hujeiri denied all accusations in remarks he made to MTV by phone.

“Just like I tried to secure the release of other servicemen, I tried to win the freedom of Hamieh but I failed from preventing his death through negotiations,” Hujeiri said.

“I did not meet him [the executed Hamieh] and he did not come to my place, so how do I bear any responsibility? The militants decided to kill him, so how can I be the killer?”

Gunmen from the Hujeiri family deployed in Arsal after Tuesday’s incident as the Army took strict security measures in the eastern city of Baalbek, erecting checkpoints in Talya and Taraya.

Newly elected Arsal Mayor Bassel Hujeiri called for restraint. The Future Movement condemned the killing, calling on the government to take immediate action against what they called a “dangerous crime.”

“It was a deplorable crime which claimed the spirit of a young innocent man just because he is the nephew of someone they accuse of taking part in the abduction of the soldiers,” the Future Movement said in a statement.

The group said that the killing targets “civil peace” that will only serve the militant organizations, which are responsible for the soldiers’ kidnapping “first and foremost.”

Separately, the Lebanese Army Tuesday detained a senior Daesh [ISIS] commander along the country’s restive northeastern border.

The state-run National News Agency said that Sameh al-Breidy, a notorious Daesh official, had been arrested in an operation carried out by the military in the town of Arsal.

Soldiers also raided positions in nearby areas.

Last month the military killed a senior Daesh commander and an accomplice during a raid on the town’s restless outskirts.

Nayef Shaalan, also known as Abou Fouz, was killed on April 28, during an early morning raid by the army in Wadi al-Hosn.

Ahmad Mroueh, a fellow militant, was also killed during the offensive, while Mohammad Mousalli was arrested at the scene. Three Army soldiers were wounded in the operation.