Meqdads break promise, kidnap 3 more Syrians briefly

The Lebanese clan Meqdad broke its pledge Saturday and kidnapped three more Syrian nationals before releasing them hours later. Security sources said four gunmen, one of them masked, snatched the three men at dawn Saturday from a banana fermentation warehouse near the Beirut airport, where they work. The kidnappers had forced the Syrians into a silver four-wheel drive and fled away, according to the sources, who spoke to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity. They identified the Syrians as Maher Mustafa Abboud, Qassem Dandouneh and Mohammad Awad. The sources said detectives determined that Hasan Hussein Meqdad and a number of Meqdad family members were behind the kidnapping. They said the captors stole the money on the Syrians before releasing them. The Meqdads said Thursday they would suspend kidnappings after having enough Syrians to negotiate with. They said they were holding more than 20 Syrian with proof that that they belong to the Free Syrian Army, in addition to a Turkish citizen. (daily star)