Engineer Freed in Arsal after One-Month Abduction
An engineer kidnapped around a month ago in the Bekaa border town of Arsal has been released, state-run National News Agency reported Friday evening.
“The engineer Majed al-Qadi has been freed and he was seen escorted by Mustafa al-Hujeiri, aka Abu Taqiyeh,” NNA said.
According to the agency, the man was nabbed as he was working at an electricity facility belonging to the Fleiti family.
“He is at the house of Sheikh Mustafa al-Hujeiri in Arsal,” LBCI TV reported after Qadi's release, referring to the Salafist cleric who is known for his ties with armed groups operating in Arsal, its outskirts and the neighboring Syrian regions.
Qadi hails from the northern Bekaa town of al-Ain, LBCI said.
Al-Jadeed television said Hujeiri is supposed to hand over the engineer to the Lebanese Army's Intelligence Directorate.
On August 2, jihadists from the Islamic State and the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front overran Arsal after the army arrested a Nusra leader, sparking deadly clashes with the military.
They withdrew several days later after a ceasefire was brokered by Muslim scholars, accompanied by more than 30 captive troops and policemen.
Y.R.
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