Syria Hands Over Top Suspect of Cyclists' Kidnapping to Lebanon
A top suspect in the kidnapping of seven Estonian cyclists has been detained in Syria and handed over to Lebanon, a Lebanese security official said on November 2.
"We are currently holding Wael Abbas for interrogation after Syrian authorities handed him over hours ago and we confirmed his identity," nowlebanon.com quoted the official who at this point declined to give further details on the suspect.
Lebanon's police chief Ashraf Rifi has said Abbas was the mastermind behind the March 23 kidnapping of seven Estonians, who were abducted at gunpoint while cycling in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley.
Those responsible for abducting the cyclists and holding them throughout their four-month ordeal were believed to be members of a previously unknown group called the Movement for Renewal and Reform.
On September 20, two men, one Syrian and one Lebanese, suspected of involvement in the kidnapping were killed in a shootout with security forces in Bekaa.
Erkki Sivonen