A Turkish Airlines pilot, co-pilot, and four other plane crew members were in a minibus on the way to Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut at 3 a.m. Friday when they were accosted by a pair of vehicles equipped with eight armed men. The pilot and co-pilot were kidnapped, leaving the rest of the crew behind on the bus. No one has claimed responsibility for the abduction yet, but it may have had something to do with Lebanese support of the Syrian rebels fighting against Bashar al-Assad’s regime, though the Lebanese government has officially remained neutral on the conflict. Nine other Lebanese citizens have been kidnapped and held for over a year by Syrian rebels who allege that the citizens are Hezbollah affiliates. The ambushed Turkish Airlines bus driver, among others, is being interrogated in the investigation to determine who is responsible.
