Israeli airman Ron Arad, missing for 17 years, is dead and Lebanon’s Hizbollah group has his remains, Beirut-based sources close to prisoner exchange talks between the guerrilla group and Israel said Wednesday. “Arad is dead and Hizbollah has his remains,” one Arab source told Reuters. The source said Hizbollah also had the remains of three Israeli soldiers who went missing but were presumed killed in a battle in east Lebanon in 1982. A diplomatic source and a Lebanese political source familiar with the issue confirmed the report. A Hizbollah spokesman said the group had no comment. The fate of Arad, an air force navigator who disappeared after his plane was shot down over Lebanon in 1986, has been an enduring mystery. Full Story