Hamas leaves Syria, say sources

DAMASCUS / TEHRAN

Hamas abondoned Syria due to turmoil in the country, Anatolia news agency reported, quoting informed sources. The announcement of the new location of the office will be made soon, sources added.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Syria was “a red line” for its country and underlined the deep strategic relations between Syria and Iran. During his Feb. 9 meeting with
Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, Salehi said pressure on Syria was due to its support of resistance.

Hassoun emphasized the necessity of work to find a way out of the crisis in Syria based on national dialogue. Furthermore, seven Iranian engineers who had been kidnapped in Syria in Dec. 2011 have been released, an informed source at the Iranian Energy Ministry announced Feb. 10.

Unidentified gunmen abducted five Iranian engineers on Dec. 20 and two others on Dec. 21 in Homs. Another official also said the engineers would soon be brought to the country through Turkey or Iraq.