Lebanese released in swap deal with Syrians

A Lebanese man kidnapped in east Lebanon last week was released overnight in exchange for eight Syrians who were abducted by his family, security sources said on Friday. According to his family, Mohammad Tufaili was snatched in the eastern city of Baalbek last Wednesday by a Syrian man and his brother. Tufaili's relatives, in retaliation, kidnapped eight Syrian shepherds from the Bekaa Valley town of Nahleh the next day, hoping to use them as part of a swap deal for the release of their kinsman. A statement last week from the Tufaili family identified their son’s kidnappers as Faisal Haidar al-Maarawi and his brother Rifaat, who hail from the Syrian town of Maarah.