Damascus: Three Iranian drivers were kidnapped late Tuesday by unidentified gunmen in Syria's northern Aleppo province, just hours after a 12-member Shi’ite Lebanese convoy were kidnapped in the same area, an Iranian diplomatic source said on Wednesday.
The Iranians were truck drivers, the source in the Iranian embassy told Xinhua.
Around 11 Lebanese Shi’ite pilgrims were kidnapped along with their Syrian driver on Tuesday by armed groups in Aleppo's Azzaz area, while they were on their way back to Lebanon from Iran.
Many Shi’ite Muslims have been kidnapped in Syria by armed rebels, who accuse Iran of sending its fighters to help the Syrian government in stamping out the anti-regime movement in the country.
Some observers believe that such incidents meant basically to drive wedges between the close regional allies of Syria, Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, thus weakening the ever-increasing tide of Shi’ite influence in the region.
ANI
First Published: Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 16:37