Abducted students released after being stripped of possessions, cars
Four students abducted Wednesday by a group of gunmen in the mountainous region of Aqoura were released 90 minutes later by their captors in the nearby Homsya town after being stripped of their possessions, according to a security report.
Later Wednesday, a statement by the Internal Security Forces press office said the kidnappers exchanged fire with security forces after being tracked until the Britel village of Baalbek and managed to evade pursuit.
The students were on their way to conduct an environmental study in the area when their cars, a Mercedes Benz and a Kia Sportage, were ambushed at 8:30 a.m. by the perpetrators, who were driving a Range Rover.
According to the students, the kidnappers pretended to be security officers and warned them of informing security forces of the incident.
The event occurred amid a spate of car-theft incidents across the country.
In other security developments on Wednesday, unidentified assailants fired gun shots at The Hariri Development and Education complex in the southern port city of Sidon.
The shooting occurred after a worker in the Hariri Complex took refuge in the building following a quarrel with a group of residents from the nearby Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp. The gunmen pursued him and fired rounds of shots at the complex.
Following the incident, Education Minister Bahia Hariri called on security and military officials to arrest perpetrators involved in the shooting.
Hariri issued a statement urging all security forces to preserve stability and reiterated her trust in the Lebanese Armed Forces and "their capacity to restore order and ensure the security of civilians."
It added that a reunion was taking place in the building to plan for the summer activities for the coastal city”s children when the complex came under fire.