Lebanese security forces have freed two Saudi nationals kidnapped and tortured for eight days in an apartment on the outskirts of Beirut. Ali Al-Asiri, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, said Tawfiq and Abdullah Al-Shaqaqeen, were “lured and tricked by a gang loyal to an Arab state,” which “held and tortured them for eight days,” adding that the kidnappers demanded a “large ransom” in exchange for their release. Sources said the kidnappers were from Iraq. The victims were rescued by Lebanese security forces who worked “in conjunction” with the Saudi embassy in Beirut, said the diplomat, adding that both men are currently receiving medical treatment at the American University Hospital in the Lebanese capital. “Upon receiving the kidnapping report, the embassy immediately moved and coordinated with the Lebanese security services that demonstrated great skill in tracking down the kidnappers, leading to the identification of the location of the apartment in which the two Saudi citizens were held; then they were freed after a well-devised plan set by the Lebanese security services and the embassy,” Asiri said. The report did not specify when the Saudi nationals were rescued but Asiri confirmed that at least two kidnappers were arrested while the search for the remaining “members of the gang continues.” The ambassador urged all Saudis in Lebanon to stay “only in well-known hotels and stay away from private apartments,” and called on visitors to register with the embassy upon arrival in Beirut. He also warned Saudis to stay away from Lebanon's border areas. __
