Report: Families of 11 Pilgrims Holding Turkish National as Captive
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The Turkish national, Abdul-Basset Arslan, who was kidnapped in Beirut on Friday, is held by the families of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims who were seized in Syria in May.
“We obtained information that the families of the 11 abducted men kidnapped Arslan,” an official source told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Tuesday.
The 11 Lebanese were kidnapped in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo on their way home from a pilgrimage to Iran on May 22. Conflicting reports have emerged on their fate after Syrian government forces shelled the area of Aazaz where they were being held.
“It seems that the abducted Turkish nationals were split between al-Meqdad clan and the families of the abducted men,” the source pointed out.
Later OTV reported that the families of the 11 abducted Lebanese pilgrims threatened to kick off kidnapping operations after the Lebanese government’s failure to release the captives.
Arslan is the second Turkish citizen to be abducted in Lebanon after al-Meqdad clan announced that it kidnapped Aidan Toufan in an attempt to press Turkey to exert efforts to release Hassan Salim al-Meqdad, who was allegedly abducted by the Free Syrian Army in Damascus last week.
The clan denied that the family’s previously unknown military wing had anything to do with the abduction of Arslan.
21 August 2012, 08:04
14
BS and More BS! it is clear it is hizbushaitan behind all this.
21 August 2012, 08:46
12
Wayna el dawleh???? Wlek ya Mikati have some decency and resign!! I never thought I will ever say this, bass Allah yer7am iyyem el Sinora!
21 August 2012, 09:18
02
time for a change in government in Lebanon,its like a lawless society at the moment .there is only one way forward and that means no one should have arms outside the defense forces .
21 August 2012, 12:57
00
I wonder why they are targeting the Turks now. It's so clear that Hezbollah was and still is directly involved in killing Syrians on Syrian soil. No one can deny that as there is so much to prove it, especially the returning bodies in body bags. Then once Hezbollah got itself involved in this way, it directly put its people in direct risk, so pilgrims or no pilgrims, there's a war in Syria and Hezbollah should take full responsibilities. Yes, Turkey is involved in helping and sheltering Syrians, and even assisting the FSA and the SNC, but the moment the Turks will retaliate, it is bound to send shivers down the spines of every Shiite. Just recently, Arab Gulf countries have started plans to repatriate thousands of Lebanese, mostly innocent Shiites who have huge family burdens on their shoulders. As more and more will be repatriated, many many lives will be screwed up for nothing. Let the silly Mekdads, Amal and Hezbollah make up for such completely needless losses.
21 August 2012, 18:11
00
Inbreed family gets held back in Syria so they kidnap a Turk? Why not a Chinese or a Sri Lankan? Public stupidity must be a felony
