Syrian Kidnapped during al-Labweh Ambush Released

A Syrian national who was kidnapped in an ambush in al-Labweh town in al-Bekaa on Sunday was released, reported the National News Agency on Monday.

It said that Mohammed Abbas was released at dawn on Monday thanks to efforts exerted by local tribes.

Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported Monday that a second Syrian was also released while a third managed to escape during the ambush.

Arsal municipal chief Ali al-Hujairi was wounded and his companion Mohammed Hasan al-Hujairi was killed when their convoy came under fire in al-Labweh, shortly after a hostage swap that took place in Ras Baalbek.

Later on Monday, a March 14 delegation that included MPs Jamal al-Jarrah and Assem Araji headed to Arsal in order to meet official and help ease tensions in the area.

A group calling itself “The Brigades of the Four Martyrs” claimed responsibility for Sunday's ambush, stated VDL Sunday.

On Sunday, the army issued a statement confirming the casualties and saying the gunmen also abducted two Syrians who were in the convoy.

A military source told Agence France Presse that the incident comes in retaliation to a deadly attack on four young men near Arsal in June.

He said the attack was carried out by members of the Jaafar and Amhaz families as the car passed al-Labweh.

The four men were killed on June 15 while smuggling fuel in the region, a security source said at the time.

Members of the Jaafar family, to which two of the slain men belonged, responded furiously and the Lebanese army called for calm in the area, which is home to both Shiite and Sunni towns.

While the deaths were believed to be linked to control of the lucrative smuggling trade in the region, they came amid tensions between Lebanon's Sunni and Shiites communities sparked by the conflict in neighboring Syria.