Beirut, Oct 29 (AFP) Three Lebanese nationals kidnappedin the Iraqi capital Baghdad last week have been freed andwere expected to arrive in Beirut later today, Lebanon'sinterior ministry said.
The three men, named as Imad al-Khatib, Nader Hmadeh andGeorge Batrouni, were kidnapped on arrival in Baghdad onOctober 22.
A statement from the interior ministry said today the menwere freed in an operation coordinated between Lebanese andIraqi authorities.
It said the men had been kidnapped by a "gang", addingthat one kidnapper had been killed in the rescue operation andothers arrested.
The statement said additional kidnappers were still beingpursued, without specifying the suspected motives for theabduction.
Kidnappings for ransom or for sectarian or politicalreasons were rife in Iraq following the US-led invasion of2003 that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, but they becameless common from 2015 onwards. (AFP)CPS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.
