BEIRUT (Xinhua/Al Jazeera) – The Lebanese army on Tuesday announced that a Saudi Arabian citizen who had been kidnapped in Lebanon’s capital Beirut was already freed.
A statement released by the army said the man was freed by an Intelligence Directorate’s patrol which launched an operation on the Lebanese-Syrian border to rescue him, while a number of those involved in the crime were arrested.
The Saudi man was kidnapped from a neighborhood close to the airport road in Beirut, the al-Jadeed TV reported.
Unidentified assailants dressed as security personnel in a four-wheel drive vehicle on the Beirut seafront kidnapped the Saudi, who had been in a restaurant, according to a senior Lebanese security source.
The man works for Saudi Airlines in Beirut, and the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 400,000 U.S. dollars for his release in a phone call from the suburbs of Beirut.
On Tuesday, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati reaffirmed his insistence on controlling the security situation and not allowing any threat to the security of the Lebanese and nationals residing in Lebanon.
“The kidnapping of a Saudi citizen is condemned by all standards, and we congratulate the army for the great effort it made to release him and arrest those involved,” he said.
“We are keen to see the return of all Arab brothers to Lebanon and prevent any threat against them, in addition to avoiding the use of Lebanese territory as a starting point for any action that threatens the security and safety of Arab countries,” the prime minister added.
The Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said at a news conference that nine people had been taken into custody over the kidnapping.