Request of Kidnappers of Lebanese Pilgrims to Draw Nasrallah Retort
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is expected on Friday to announce a clear stance on the conditions set by the alleged kidnappers of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims in Syria.
Nasrallah is scheduled to make a speech in UNESCO via video link during a ceremony organized by the Iranian embassy to commemorate the death of the Islamic revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
A previously unknown armed group calling itself the "Syrian Revolutionaries -- Aleppo Province" said on Thursday that it is holding the pilgrims who were kidnapped in Aleppo last week while returning from a pilgrimage to Iran.
"The kidnapped Lebanese are being looked after by us and are in good health," the group said in a statement received by Qatar-based satellite news channel al-Jazeera.
"Negotiations for their release are possible as soon as Nasrallah apologizes.”
But al-Jadeed TV said the families of the abducted men sent a letter to Nasrallah urging him not to apologize.
The Hizbullah chief, who last week appealed for calm in Beirut’s southern suburbs after the May 22 abduction, said in a speech that his party would not change its position concerning the conflict in Syria.
"If this kidnapping is aimed at putting pressure on our political position, it's a waste of time," he said about his support for the regime of President Bashar Assad.
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