Hostages freed by Syrian rebels

In a complex swap of money and hostages organised by Qatar, nine Lebanese Shiite religious pilgrims have returned to Beirut after being held for more than a year by Syrian rebels outside Aleppo.

Qatari Foreign Minister Khaled Atiyya negotiated the deal with Syrian rebel groups in the Syrian city of Azaz, on the border with Turkey. The deal included the release of two Turkish pilots who had been abducted in Beirut two months ago - apparently by the families of the pilgrims.

Both pilots, who had appeared in a video broadcast on Lebanese news last week, were flown to Turkey in anticipation of the arrival of the Lebanese hostages, who passed into the custody of Turkish intelligence on Friday night to prepare for the return flight home.

Jubilation: A Lebanese hostage is greeted by relatives in Beirut after being held in captivity in Syria for more than a year. Photo: AP

The rebels abducted the nine men last April, claiming they were spies for the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which has increasingly and openly been supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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Although some of the men appear to have ties to the secretive militant group, Hezbollah denied they were on a military operation but were returning by land from a tour of Shiite religious sites in Iraq.

Local media reported Qatar had paid as much as $US150 million ($155 million) to secure the release of the hostages - such a deal traditionally might include compensation to both the Lebanese and Turkish hostages as well as payments to the kidnappers. McClatchy could not confirm the amount.

Home free: Released hostage Ali Abbas, right, is kissed by a relative upon his arrival at Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport. Photo: AP

''Qatar and [Lebanese] General Ibrahim Abbas negotiated the deal with the kidnappers in Turkey and here in Beirut,'' a Lebanese security official familiar with the deal said. ''Last night the Turkish [military intelligence] took control of the men,'' he said, referring to the kidnapped pilgrims.

When asked about the ransom report, the official said that the deal did include money paid by Qatar but said that the $US150 million figure seemed high.

With the Syrian civil war into its third year, abductions have become frequent, with scores of Western journalists and aid workers joining thousands of Syrians on both sides who have been taken captive.

In the past year, ransom demands have become a more common element to the kidnappings, with both sides demanding cash payments for the release of both Syrian and foreign hostages.

The announcement that the nine men would be returning on Saturday night was marked by celebratory gunfire in predominantly Shiite neighbourhoods throughout Beirut. The situation ratcheted up sectarian tensions in this already fractured nation as the families of the hostages repeatedly staged protests targeting Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia - all predominantly Sunni states that support the rebels.

Some family members had also threatened to exact revenge on Sunnis in Lebanon, a community that widely supports the rebellion in Syria, if the men were harmed.

Last northern summer there was a wave of kidnappings of Syrian guest workers and visitors from the Persian Gulf states by gunmen linked to the families of both the pilgrims and other Lebanese Shiites thought to be held by rebels in Syria.