(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A Shiite Muslim group has claimed responsibility for the abduction of a Turkish Airlines pilot and his assistant in Beirut.
The group said the two men were in their custody and that they were kidnapped in retaliation for the abduction of nine Lebanese Shiite Muslims near the Turkish-Syrian border last year, Today's Zaman reported.
"We announce that the Turkish captain ... and his assistant are our guests until our brothers... who were abducted in Azaz are released," the group said in a statement.
The fate of the two abducted men is in the hands of Turkey, the group said.
The two Turks were kidnapped during an ambush on a bus Friday in Beirut. All other passengers on the bus were allowed to go free.
Security sources said four or five gunmen were involved in the abduction.
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