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Lebanese police shoot dead two suspected of kidnapping Estonians

20 September 2011 20:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Lebanese police shot dead two suspects linked to the kidnapping of seven Estonians, a statement by the Internal Security Force (ISF) said Tuesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The two suspects killed Tuesday were "key members" of a group that plotted to kidnap the seven Estonian tourists earlier this year, the statement said.

The two men were killed in their car in a dawn shootout that followed an ambush by the ISF in the village of Bireh, east of Beirut, it said.

Two police officers were wounded in the chase, and one of them were in serious condition, it added.

The bodies of the two suspects were transferred to a hospital in Beirut.

Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and ISF Chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi hailed the outcome of the operation.

Charbel said in a statement that the men killed in Tuesday’s operation were part of a gang that were plotting to kidnap other foreigners in Lebanon.

Seven Estonian cyclists were abducted at gunpoint by masked gunmen on March 23 upon their entry into Lebanon from Syria. They were held for nearly four months and released unharmed on July 14.