Kidnappers of Estonian tourists killed in Lebanon‎

Kidnappers of Estonian tourists killed in Lebanon‎

2011-09-21 09:43:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

BEIRUT (BNO NEWS) -- Lebanese police on Tuesday shot dead two suspects linked to the kidnapping of seven Estonians earlier this year, the Daily Star reported.

The Internal Security Forces (ISF) described in a statement that the two suspects were "key members" of the cell which plotted to kidnap the seven Estonians who were held for four months and released in July. They were killed in their car in a dawn shootout that followed an ambush by members of the ISF in the town of al-Bireh, east of Beirut.

The report said that two police officers were wounded in the chase, one of them seriously. The bodies of the two suspects were transferred to a hospital in Beirut.

Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel hailed the operation and confirmed to The Daily Star for the first time that a ransom had been paid to secure the release of the group. Estonian authorities have refused to confirm reports that a ransom was paid to free its citizens.

"At long last, Lebanon got confirmation that a ransom was indeed paid [in the case of the seven Estonians] which has stirred up a craving for kidnap-for-ransom," Charbel told The Daily Star.

On March 23, seven Estonian cyclists were abducted by masked gunmen while traveling through the Bekaa Valley shortly after visiting Syria. They were held for nearly four months, and released unharmed on July 14.

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