Pilgrims held in Syria returning to Lebanon
By DIAA HADID and BASSEM MROUEBy DIAA HADID and BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press
Relatives of nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims who were kidnapped by a rebel faction in northern Syria in May 2012, flash victory signs as they celebrate news of their relatives release, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. Nine Shiite pilgrims from Lebanon kidnapped in Syria were freed late Friday night as part of a negotiated hostage deal that could see two Turkish pilots held by Lebanese militants released, officials said. The complicated three-way deal also potentially includes the release of female prisoners now held by the embattled government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Relatives of nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims who were kidnapped by a rebel faction in northern Syria in May 2012, flash victory signs as they celebrate news of their relatives release, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. Nine Shiite pilgrims from Lebanon kidnapped in Syria were freed late Friday night as part of a negotiated hostage deal that could see two Turkish pilots held by Lebanese militants released, officials said. The complicated three-way deal also potentially includes the release of female prisoners now held by the embattled government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A relative woman of one of the nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims, who were kidnapped by a rebel faction in northern Syria in May 2012, waits latest news about her relative release, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. Nine Shiite pilgrims from Lebanon kidnapped in Syria were freed late Friday night as part of a negotiated hostage deal that could see two Turkish pilots held by Lebanese militants released, officials said. The complicated three-way deal also potentially includes the release of female prisoners now held by the embattled government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A relative of one of nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims, who were kidnapped by a rebel faction in northern Syria in May 2012, holds her mobile phone as she shows a portrait of Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah on her Facebook page, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. Nine Shiite pilgrims from Lebanon kidnapped in Syria were freed late Friday night as part of a negotiated hostage deal that could see two Turkish pilots held by Lebanese militants released, officials said. The complicated three-way deal also potentially includes the release of female prisoners now held by the embattled government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Arabic writing on the mobile screen reads, "We are people who don't leave their prisoners in jails. Always, our master, you promise us victory and you are truthful, as you always promised us with victory, you were truthful, Qusair (a Syrian city) is in your hands and their heads under your shoes." (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Relatives of some of the nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims, who were kidnapped by a rebel faction in northern Syria in May 2012, sit at a shop under portraits of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, top left, and Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, top second left, as they wait for the latest news about their relatives release, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. Nine Shiite pilgrims from Lebanon kidnapped in Syria were freed late Friday night as part of a negotiated hostage deal that could see two Turkish pilots held by Lebanese militants released, officials said. The complicated three-way deal also potentially includes the release of female prisoners now held by the embattled government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
FILE - This undated file photo shows Murat Agca, one of two Turkish pilots kidnapped by armed assailants in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 9, 2013. Nine Shiite pilgrims from Lebanon kidnapped in Syria were freed late Friday night, Oct. 18, 2013 as part of a negotiated hostage deal that could see the pilots, Agca and Murat Akpinar, held by Lebanese militants released, officials said. The complicated three-way deal also potentially includes the release of female prisoners now held by the embattled government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/File) TURKEY OUT, INTERNET OUT
BEIRUT (AP) — Nine Lebanese pilgrims held by Syrian rebels were returning Saturday to Beirut as part of a negotiated three-way hostage deal, the Lebanese interior minister said.
Their release ends a year-and-a-half ordeal for the Shiite men, kidnapped in May 2012 while on their way from Iran to Lebanon through Turkey and Syria. It also concluded part of an ambitious swap that officials say will include the release of two Turkish Airlines pilots held by militants in Lebanon and female prisoners held by Syria's government.
Residents of the mostly Shiite southern suburb of Beirut fired celebratory gunfire into the air, waved the Lebanese national flag and recited poetry in anticipation of seeing their loved ones Saturday. Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said that the pilgrims should arrive at the international airport in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, within the coming hours.
"It's a wedding for us, it's a celebration," Charbel said from the airport.
The pilgrims were held by Syrian rebels who initially demanded that the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah end its involvement in the Syria's civil war, now entering its third year. They later softened their demands to the release of imprisoned women held by security forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.
The men's kidnapping set off a series of tit-for-tat kidnappings by Shiite clansmen inside Lebanon, including the two Turkish pilots in Beirut in August. The gunmen hoped to pressure Turkey to help release the pilgrims.
Turkey is believed to have close relations to some Syrian rebel groups. All three groups of captives: the Lebanese pilgrims, the Turkish pilots and the Syrian women in prison are meant to be released in coming days as part of the negotiated deal.
It wasn't immediately clear Saturday if the Turks or Syrians had been freed.
"They will all be freed soon, God willing," Charbel said.
Lebanese, Turkish and Syrian officials declined to immediately offer more details of the complicated, multilateral exchange. The deal appeared to be mostly mediated by the resource-rich Gulf state of Qatar, which has supported Syrian rebels in their battle against the Assad government. Palestinian officials also mediated.
The Lebanese pilgrims crossed into Turkey late Friday.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-10-19-ML-Syria/id-64a0265cb3424175b5fc31893083cc0b
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