Aazaz Abductors Agree to Swap Pilgrims for Women Held in Syria Prisons

The abductors of the nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims held in the Syrian border town of Aazaz on Friday announced that they are willing to free the hostages in return for the release of all women detainees from the prisons of the Syrian regime.

“After several and repeated mediation efforts by international and humanitarian organizations and committees, we announce that we agree to free the nine Lebanese 'guests' in return for the release of all women detainees held in the prisons of Assad's gangs,” the so-called Northern Storm Brigade said on its Facebook page.

“This is our only demand and we do not want anything else, neither in public nor under the table,” the Brigade noted.

It said the swap deal must happen “in full coordination with the organizations and official committees that are seeking the release of the Lebanese guests, especially the Turkish state and the Arab Gulf countries, topped by the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Committee of Muslim Scholars in Lebanon.”

The Brigade described its offer as “an initiative of brotherhood towards the Lebanese people.”

On May 22, eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo district as they were making their way back by land from a pilgrimage in Iran.

One was released in late August and another in September, while the rest remain in Aazaz.