Report: Turkish Pilots' Kidnappers Professionals, Not Relatives of Aazaz Abductees
Initial reports in the kidnapping of the two Turkish pilots have found out that the abductors are professionals and not amateurs, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.
It explained that the high level of professionalism in the operation indicates that the captors are not relatives of the Lebanese pilgrims held in Syria's Aazaz region.
The kidnapping raised questions over the efficiency of the security measures taken at the airport seeing as the Turkish Airlines pilots were abducted at a distance of less than 200 meters from Rafik Hariri International Airport.
The kidnappers would have had to monitor the arrival time of the pilots' plane and set up the ambush in the busy airport area without being detected, added the daily.
Observers questioned how the assailants set up the fake checkpoint, changed the course of traffic along the airport highway, and carried out the abduction out in the open, reported An Nahar.
“How is that the kidnappers knew the complete details of the Turkish Airlines flight and the exact time that its crew needed to arrive at the airport, leave the premises, and get to the ambush?” they asked.
Investigations are so far focusing on the telephone calls conducted before the landing of the plane, it stated.
A Turkish pilot and co-pilot were kidnapped by gunmen on Friday.
Six gunmen intercepted a van carrying the Turkish Airlines employees from Rafik Hariri International Airport to a hotel in the Ain Mreisseh seafront at dawn Friday, kidnapping the two pilots - Murat Akpinar and Murat Agca - but leaving the four other crew members behind.
The attack prompted Turkey to issue a travel warning urging its citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to Lebanon and those already present in the country to leave.
The relatives of the pilgrims held in Aazaz were quick to deny having any links to the abduction.
Eleven pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region in May 2012 as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from pilgrimage in Iran.
Two of them have since been released, while the rest remain in Aazaz.
Their relatives have held Turkey responsible for their ongoing abduction.
They have repeatedly vowed to take action against Turkish interests in Lebanon in order to pressure Ankara to release the captives.
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