BEIRUT - Two Lebanese businessmen thought to have been kidnapped by gunmen in Iraq are in fact being held by the Iraqi police, Lebanese security sources said on Wednesday. Jamal Ahmed Falla and his business partner Ahmed Suweidi were seized Friday from their home in the Iraqi capital by armed men, prompting relatives and officials to declare them kidnapped, the sources said.
However, the Lebanese authorities were informed on Wednesday that the two men are being held in police custody. There was no information on what charges they are facing.
Money laundering or supporting the jihadis? | Some 50 Lebanese working for private firms have been kidnapped in Iraq snce the US-led invasion of 2003, with most of them released on payment of a ransom. Two Lebanese were killed by their captors, while three others died in September 2004 during a foiled kidnap attempt in Baghdad. |