Contacts continuing in effort to release Lebanese hostages

Lebanese officials say contacts are ongoing in an effort to secure the release of 11 Lebanese hostages who were kidnapped in Syria. The men should have been released Friday, according to Turkish officials, but unknown hurdles at the last minutes prevented their release. Lebanese officials did not say what caused the delay. But they appear optimistic the ordeal will soon end. “The detainees were on Turkish territory near the Syrian border, as reported by those who’ve had contact with the group that abducted them, as well as what has been said by high-ranking Lebanese and Turkish officials,” said Ibrahim bin Abdel-Aziz al-Zoabi, an official with little-known Syrian opposition group the Party of Free Syrians, reported El-Nashra. He also denied that his own group, the Party of Free Syrians, had anything to do with the kidnapping of the Lebanese pilgrims, who were taken captive nearly one week ago in Syria while returning from a visit to Shiite holy sites in Iran. Zoabi said, “The Party of Free Syrians has nothing to do with the kidnapping, and is against the terrorizing and intimidation of unsuspecting civilians. In fact, it was playing the role of mediator and its role ended when the detainees arrived in Turkey.” The link, if any, between the Party of Free Syrians and the Free Syrian Army, which plays an active role in opposing the Syrian regime, was not immediately clear. He added, "Things had been moving in the right direction and the final touches were going to be put on the handover process if not for the abductors' reactions to Nasrallah's statements." Zoabi went on to say that Nasrallah's criticism of the Syrian opposition and praise of the Syrian regime, including its head, President Bashar Assad, offended the kidnappers and affected the process at the last minute. Some of the Lebanese women briefly detained reported that their abductors were members of the Free Syrian Army. Zoabi criticized those who blamed the Syrian opposition for the incident and noted that information describing his party’s involvement in the case was related to its role as a mediator.