12 Lebanon Shiites kidnapped in Syria: families

BEIRUT- Agence France-Presse

This image made from amateur video released by Shaam News Network and accessed Tuesday, May 22, 2012 purports to show U.N. observers being welcomed in Idlib, Syria. AP photo

Rebels in northern Syria kidnapped 12 Lebanese Shiite Muslims in Aleppo province as they were headed back home by bus from a pilgrimage in Iran, family members told AFP today.

"My two brothers-in-law were among about 12 people kidnapped by the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo as they were heading back to Beirut on board a bus after visiting religious sites in Iran," said one man who refused to give his name.
 
"The women who were with them were allowed to go free." The man was among family members of those detained and hundreds of supporters who gathered on Tuesday afternoon in a suburb of the Lebanese capital to demand their release.