Deal yields freedom for 2 Turkish pilots and 9 kidnapped Lebanese

BEIRUT: Two Turkish pilots kidnapped in Lebanon were freed Saturday as part of a deal that saw nine abducted Lebanese civilians in Syria released from captivity, officials said.
Turkish Airlines pilots Murat Akpinar and Murat Agca had been held by militants since their kidnapping in August in Beirut.
The Turks’ release is part of a negotiated hostage deal that included the freeing of the kidnapped Lebanese, as well as dozens of women held in Syrian government jails.
The nine Shiites, kidnapped in May 2012 while on their way from Iran to Lebanon via Turkey and Syria, were expected to arrive in Beirut later.
Residents of the mostly Shiite southern suburb of Beirut fired celebratory gunfire into the air, waved the Lebanese national flag and recited poetry in anticipation of seeing their loved ones.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said that the pilgrims should arrive at the international airport in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. As of Saturday evening, the pilgrims’ plane still sat at Istanbul’s international airport. It was not immediately clear why the plane had not departed.
The minister said despite the delay, the men were expected within hours.
The Lebanese were held by Syrian rebels who initially demanded that the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah end its involvement in the Syria’s civil war, now entering its third year. They later softened their demands to the release of imprisoned women held by Syrian regime forces.