Syrian rebels set free a kidnapped Lebanese

By Bassem Mroue

Associated Press

Published: Saturday, Aug. 25 2012 5:05 a.m. MDT

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In this Friday Aug. 17, 2012 file photo, Syrian fighters search for survivors under the rubble of a building destroyed in an airstrike by Syrian government planes in Aleppo, Syria. As Syria's rebels gain ground across the country, the fighters are trying to win the hearts and minds of their countrymen and the international community -- capturing army diesel trucks to give to impoverished villagers, working to restore damaged power lines and smuggling in foreign journalists.

Khalil Hamra, File, Associated Press

Summary

Syrian rebels have freed one of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims they have been holding for three months.

BEIRUT — Syrian rebels have freed one of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims they have been holding for three months.

Hussein Ali Omar appeared healthy in an interview aired on Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV after his release Saturday, urging the Lebanese and Arabs to support the Syrian people as the country's civil war escalates.

The Shiite pilgrims were abducted May 22 after crossing into Syria from Turkey on their way to Lebanon.

A previously unheard of group calling itself "Syrian Rebels in Aleppo" claimed responsibility.

The group demanded that the leader of the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, apologize for recent comments in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Nasrallah, an ally of Assad's regime, has said the kidnapping would not change his group's stance.

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