Army Frees Syrians Kidnapped by al-Meqdad, Turkish Abductee Freed

The Lebanese Army said it freed at dawn Tuesday four Syrians kidnapped by al-Meqdad clan during a raid in Beirut's southern suburbs that allegedly left a Turkish abductee injured.

Moreover, LBCI reported that the Turkish abductee was freed Tuesday evening and handed over to the Lebanese authorities at the General Directorate of General Security in the presence of the Turkish ambassador, General Security Chief Abbas Ibrahim and Interior Minister Marwan Charbel.

“An Army Intelligence unit freed four abducted Syrians during a raid in Hay el-Sellom,” a communiqe said. “It also arrested two people in the same location on suspicion of their involvement in the kidnapping operations.”

The Syrians underwent medical checkups and will be referred to the competent judiciary to hand them over to their families, it said.

Another unit raided areas in Haret Hreik and arrested several people involved in the kidnappings, the communique added.

Al-Meqdad clan's spokesman Maher al-Meqdad said that the military also raided al-Ghobairi and Rweiss.

“In one of the raids the Turkish abductee was injured and was taken by al-Meqdad members leaving behind the four Syrians,” he told the National News Agency and Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

“Immediately an army patrol came and took away the four Syrians,” he said.

The Turkish businessman is still in Beirut's southern suburbs and wasn't transported to the Bekaa valley as some have claimed, he added.

But Turkish Ambassador Inan Ozyildiz gave a contradictory statement, telling LBCI TV: "We were informed that the Turkish man abducted by al-Meqdad clan is in good health.”

MTV interviewed the four freed Syrians who thanked the Lebanese army on its role.

One of them, Mohammed Raja, said the men haven't heard of the abducted Turkish national for the past 15 days.

As the news of their release broke, LBCI reported that the Mukhtar al-Thaqfi Brigade claimed it has freed other Syrian nationals and a second Turkish citizen whom it had allegedly kidnapped.

But al-Imam al-Rida Brigade, which claimed it has no ties to Mukhtar al-Thaqfi, later told the TV station that the Turkish national is in its captivity.

“He is safe and will not be released before the 10 Lebanese pilgrims are freed,” it claimed in reference to 10 men kidnapped in Syria since May.

Informed sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper that five of the 10 Lebanese will be released on Tuesday in return for handing over the second Turkish national.

Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were seized by the rebel Free Syrian Army in the northern province of Aleppo on May 22. One of them, Hussein Ali Omar, was set free last month as a goodwill gesture.

Hassan al-Meqdad was also kidnapped in Damascus in August, which led to the kidnappings spree of Syrians and Turkish nationals in Lebanon.