Gunmen Kidnap Three Syrians in Taanayel

Four gunmen intercepted on Saturday a car that entered Lebanon through the border and kidnapped three Syrian nationals in the Bekaa town of Taanayel, according to the National News Agency.

The Syrian nationals were traveling in a Jeep Mazda holding a Syrian license plate when four masked, armed men forcibly removed them from the car and kidnapped them to an unknown area.

The abductors fled to an unknown location.

The NNA reported that the Internal Security Forces and the Lebanese army cordoned off the area.

Investigations were launched to track down the kidnappers.

Thousands of Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon amid a deadly crackdown on a popular revolt against President Bashar Assad’s regime, now in its eleventh month.

In November, the Syrian army laced the Lebanese border with landmines in a bid to curb arms smuggling and hamper army defectors and refugees from fleeing.

Syrian troops have also staged deadly incursions into border villages in neighboring Lebanon.