Lebanese forces free kidnapped Saudi man

ASaudi man who had been kidnapped in Beirut has been freed in a “special operation” by the Lebanese army near the border with Syria, the military said yesterday.

Soldiers had also raided homes in Baalbek in connection with the abduction, as well as a location in the eastern city where the illicit stimulant drug captagon was being produced, the army said in a statement.

“An army intelligence patrol managed to free kidnapped Saudi national Mashari Al Mutairi during a special operation on the Syrian border,” it said.

Nine arrested

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told a news conference nine people had been arrested over the kidnapping, and that Al Mutairi was “doing well”.

The Saudi ambassador to Beirut, Walid Bukhari, thanked Lebanon for its efforts to swiftly free the man.

A senior Lebanese security source said on Monday that unidentified assailants dressed as security personnel and driving a four-wheeldrive vehicle had kidnapped the Saudi national on the Beirut seafront, where he had been in a restaurant.

Ransom demand

Soldiers raided homes in Baalbek in connection with the abduction, as well as a location in the eastern city where the illicit stimulant drug captagon was being produced.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati congratulated the army on the “great effort deployed to release him and arrest those involved in the kidnapping”. According to Saudi government-owned television channel Al Ekhbariya, the kidnappers had demanded a ransom.

Lebanese security forces frequently target parts of the Syrian border area in connection with drug trafficking. Kidnappings of foreign nationals have been rare in recent years in Lebanon.