The Daily Star - Three Syrians kidnapped, released in Lebanon, July 24 2012

BEIRUT: Three Syrians who were kidnapped in east Lebanon late Monday were released in the same area hours later, security sources told The Daily Star.

The three were identified as Mohammad al-Ali, Rifaat al-Mohammad and Saddam al-Khlif from the city of Hama.

Several masked and armed men in a black Mercedes intercepted a van with a Syrian license plate in the Bekaa town of Bazzaliyeh. After they forced the vehicle to stop, the armed men checked the identification cards of the 16 passengers and abducted three.

The three were released on the outskirts of Shaath, Bekaa.

Local media reported that the kidnapping could have been in exchange for the 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims kidnapped in Syria on May 22.

An-Nahar reported that the three men who were kidnapped belonged to the opposition and that the aim of the gunmen was to exchange the three for the Lebanese abductees.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jul-24/181747-three-syrians-kidnapped-released-in-lebanon.ashx#axzz21XL7r0ir