Al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra Front has killed a Syrian and kidnapped two others during an attack on refugees in the eastern Bekaa Valley, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday.

Gunmen from the terrorist group opened fire on an encampment of refugees in the Wadi Hmeid area of the northeastern border town of Arsal at around 11:00 pm Wednesday, NNA said.

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas has stressed that the Lebanese authorities were implementing a decision taken late last month not to accept Syrians as refugees if they come from safe areas or regions far from the Lebanese border.

In remarks to An Nahar daily published on Thursday, Derbas said he informed U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, about the move.

The jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant posted pictures online of militants bulldozing a berm dividing Iraq and Syria, symbolizing its goal of uniting its forces in the two countries.

The jihadists could be seen clearing a road through the berm, before trucks drove through as a militant stood nearby holding the group's black flag, in photos shared on websites and Twitter.

Prominent activists accused of "terrorism" by Syrian authorities remain in jail despite the announcement of a wide-ranging amnesty two days ago, a rights lawyer told AFP on Wednesday.

"We are waiting for the releases, but none of the prominent activists has yet been set free. There is no transparency in this amnesty process," said human rights lawyer Michel Shammas.

Western countries that back the revolt in Syria have started to shift position on the conflict because of the danger posed to them by jihadists, according to President Bashar Assad.

"The United States and the West have started to send signs of change. Terrorism is now on their soil," said Assad, according to remarks published in a Lebanese newspaper that backs the Damascus regime.

The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday it is willing to help Baghdad in the fight against "terrorism", a day after jihadists overran Iraq's second city Mosul.

"The foreign-backed terrorism that our brothers in Iraq are facing is the same that is targeting Syria," said the foreign ministry.

Syrian rebels backed by the international community called Wednesday for help to fight the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the east of the war-ravaged country.

The Free Syrian Army's appeal came a day after ISIL spearheaded a jihadist Sunni offensive in neighboring Iraq that claimed the country's second-biggest city Mosul and a swathe of other northern territory.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has described Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun as an “honest man,” saying he would welcome his election as a president.

In an interview with al-Akhbar daily published on Wednesday, Assad said: “Aoun is an honorable and honest man who fought with dignity and reconciled with dignity.”

International prosecutors said on Tuesday it is still possible to go after those responsible for war crimes in Syria despite Russian and Chinese efforts to block cases being referred to the International Criminal Court.

"Just because we have had one veto in the (U.N.) Security Council should not stop any of us from moving forward and seeking justice for the people of Syria," said David Crane, the former international prosecutor who indicted Liberian president Charles Taylor.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat announced Tuesday that he will soon inform al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri that his Democratic Gathering bloc will neither vote for Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun nor for Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea in the presidential election.

“We're opposed to the election of Aoun as president and I will tell Saad Hariri if I met him that we will neither vote for Aoun nor for Geagea," Jumblat said in an interview on Al-Arabiya's Al-Hadath TV channel.