Envoy Wants Lebanon To Explain Fate Of Kidnapped Engineers

Beirut, Jan 29, IRNA – Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon urged Lebanese officials to explain about news of transferring five Iranian kidnapped engineers from Syria to north of Lebanon. While certain western media have published video clips about Iranian kidnapped engineers in Syria to show them as military officers, a number of news sources say they have been transferred from Syria to north of Lebanon. The engineers were taken hostage by a group which call themselves Syria Liberation Army in the city of Homs in October 2011. Iran Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi told Lebanese Newspaper “ Al-Nahar” that he had heard the news, too and had asked Lebanese government to investigate it. He said if the news is correct, the officials should do necessary measures to release the hostages at once. So far, Lebanese Foreign Ministry officials have kept silent on the issue , but a Lebanese military security source has told al-Enteqad News Agency that they have full control of all border movements between Lebanon and Syria and that they would consider transferring of five kidnapped Iranian engineers into Lebanon territory. On the other hand, Lebanon Interior Minister Marwan Sherbel said that there is no information about transferring Iranian kidnapped engineers from Syria to north of Lebanon. Iran embassy media attaché in Damascus has denied claim of spokesperson of the so called “ Syria Liberation Army” about Iranian kidnapped engineers in Syria. Roudbari said that claim of the kidnappers about relations between engineers with Iranian military forces is a sheer lie and incorrect./end