Army Frees Syrian Abductee in Bekaa after Firing at Captors

The army managed Thursday to liberate a Syrian abductee in the Bekaa region and to arrest one of the kidnappers.

“As an intelligence patrol was trying to liberate Syrian abductee Raafat Youssef on the Bar Elias-Deir Zannoun road, the captor Abdul Rahman Issa Hussein, also a Syrian national, slammed one of the patrol's members with his car,” the army said in a statement.

The kidnapper's assault prompted the intelligence agents to open fire, which resulted in the wounding of Youssef and the arrest of the abductor, the army added, noting that a man who was in the car managed to escape.

Youssef “was rushed to hospital as the interrogation of the detainee got underway,” the army said.

Earlier on Thursday, state-run National News Agency reported a different account of the incident.

“A man called Issa Youssef was on his way to pay a ransom for the release of his abducted nephew Raafat Moussa Youssef when an army intelligence patrol coincidentally passed in the area,” NNA said.

“An exchange of gunfire ensued between the patrol and the captors, who had the abductee Youssef with them in the car,” the agency added.

“The patrol managed to liberate him,” NNA said, describing his wounds as minor.

Dozens of kidnap gang chiefs were arrested in recent months after the government launched a security plan for the Bekaa and the northern city of Tripoli.

However, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq announced three weeks ago that serious obstacles were hindering the full implementation of the security campaign.

Y.R.

M.T.