8 Syrians Kidnapped in Retaliation for Abduction of al-Tufayli Family Member

Lebanese men from al-Tufayli family kidnapped eight Syrians in retaliation for the capture of their next of kin in the eastern city of Baalbek, they claimed in a statement released late Wednesday.

“After Faisal Haidar al-Maarrawi from the Syrian town of al-Maarra and his brother Rifaat along with their gang kidnapped our son Mohammed Medhat al-Tufayli, several young men from the family abducted eight Haidar members,” said the statement.

Al-Tufayli was kidnapped at noon Wednesday in the outskirts of the town of Nahle, said the state-run National News Agency.

The eight Syrians were later abducted while working in livestock grazing in Nahle, it said.

Among them were Khaled Haidar, his brother Ahmed, Hussein Haidar, and Mohammed Darwish.

There have been several retaliatory kidnappings along sectarian lines in border regions, the result of the spillover of the Syrian war.

The Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance backs the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, while the March 14 alliance and mainly Sunnis support the rebels seeking to topple him.