Naharnet - Estonians Still Alive, May Be Held Captive at Wadi al-Aswad - May 16, 2011

The seven Estonian cyclists kidnapped in Lebanon in March are still alive, said a security source to the Central News Agency on Monday. This information comes as a relief to security forces that have still not yet determined their where they are being held captive, it added. It noted however that it appears that the kidnappers have handed the hostages to the sides that ordered the kidnapping, where they have been transported to the Fatah al-Intfada base in Wadi al-Aswad in the Bekaa Valley. The seven Estonians were abducted at gunpoint in the eastern Bekaa town of Zahle on March 23 after entering Lebanon through Syria on their bicycles. Several people have been arrested so far in connection with the kidnapping, amid an intensive hunt for the abductors in the mountainous region beyond the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar.