Syria Abductors Have New ‘Guest’: Lebanese Journalist

Local Editor

Former Al-Akhbar journalist kidnapped in Syria Syria militants abducted on Saturday Lebanese Journalist Fidaa Itani, handing him over to the abductor of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims who were kidnapped last May in Aleppo. “The coordination of Azaz Revolutionists announced the detention of journalist Fidaa Itani because his work is incompatible with the path of the Syrian revolution and rebels,” read a post by militants’ Facebook page. Itani, who works at al-Akhbar Lebanese daily and LBCI television, was placed under house arrest for a short time and will be released” after an investigation into him comes to an end, the post added. When LBC contacted the abductor of the Lebanese pilgrims in Syria, Abu Ibrahim, the latter said Itani was accompanying a group of rebels in Aleppo, adding that the fighters became “suspicious” when the journalist started videoing “large amounts of operations.” Afterwards, the militants moved Itani to Aleppo’s Aazaz where they handed him over to Abu Ibrahim, who told LBC that the journalist will stay in the area “for a while.” Abu Ibrahim has been well known as the head of the group that had abducted the 11 Lebanese pilgrims as they were returning to Lebanon from Iran. The pilgrims were kidnapped in the Syrian city of Aleppo last May. The abductors had released two of the pilgrims earlier.