‘The story is over’: Kidnapped Lebanese pilgrims in Syria freed after 1.5 years

Free at last. Full story at link.

Nine Shiite Lebanese pilgrims in Syria have finally been freed after being held hostage for nearly a year and a half. The release was reportedly part of a negotiated deal which is likely to lead to the release of two Turkish pilots being held in Lebanon.

A group of Syrian rebels were holding the Lebanese civilians hostage since May 2012. The kidnappers kept issuing new demands, claiming they had captured “subversives from the Lebanese Hezbollah party.”

The pilgrims were on a bus returning to Lebanon from Iran. In Aleppo province, their bus was stopped by a group of Syrian rebels who then abducted the passengers. Two of the hostages were later released, but the other nine remained in custody.

The kidnapping exacerbated regional tensions, leading to the kidnapping of two Turkish Airlines pilots in Beirut, Lebanon.

Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel confirmed this Friday that nine Lebanese hostages "are now in Turkish territories," AP reported. "The story is over," Reuters quoted him as saying. “In the next 24 hours, they will be with us [in Lebanon]."