Charbel Hails Cooperation between Security Agencies in Confronting 'Terrorism'

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel stressed on Thursday that the security agencies are fully carrying out their tasks and fighting “terrorism,” in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

He pointed out that the security agencies are cooperating to reveal all the security schemes targeting the country.

“They are reaching positive results,” Charbel told the newspaper.

Concerning the law suit filed against 13 members of the relatives of the abducted nine pilgrims in Syria's Aazaz, Charbel considered that the Lebanese state should send “positive signals” to its Turkish counterpart over its credibility over the release of the abducted Turkish pilots.

“We have to press the Turks to exert efforts to help us in guarantying the safe release of the nine men,” Charbel said.

On Tuesday, Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Claude Karam filed a lawsuit against 13 members of the families of the abducted men on charges of “forming an armed gang and abducting the two Turkish pilots.”

In May 2012, eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from pilgrimage from Iran. Two of them have since been released, while the rest remain held in Aazaz.

The families accuse Turkey of being behind the kidnapping.

They, however, denied any involvement in the abduction of a Turkish pilot and copilot earlier in August in Beirut.