Middle East: Freed Lebanese Shia hostages and Turkish Pilots return from Syria

Nine Lebanese Shia pilgrims who were kidnapped by rebels in Syria in May 2012 have arrived back in Beirut a day after being released.

Two Turkish pilots who were being held hostage in Lebanon were also released as part of the agreement, which was negotiated by Qatar.

Turkish Airlines pilots Murat Akpinar and Murat Agca were seized in Beirut in August in a retaliatory abduction.
They arrived in Istanbul on a Qatari jet on Saturday evening.

A third part of the complex hostage negotiations involved the release of a number of female prisoners being held by the Syrian government.

It is not yet clear whether that has taken place.

Read more: BBC News - Freed Lebanese Shia hostages return from Syria