48 Iranian pilgrims are released by Syrian militants

Militants in Syria have released the 48 Iranian pilgrims who had been abducted near the capital city of Damascus. Iranian Press TV reports about this.

The abductees were set free in a swap deal between the Syrian government and the armed militants.

An undisclosed number of Turkish nationals arrested by Syrian security forces in recent months were among those released by Damascus in the swap deal.

As the source writes on August 4, 2012, 48 Iranian pilgrims, who were traveling on a bus from Damascus International Airport to the shrine of Hazrat Zainab (AS) on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, were abducted by the militants.

In a video aired by the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television network, the militants threatened to kill all the Iranian abductees if the Syrian government did not release the captured militants and if it did not stop operations against the armed groups in the country within 48 hours. The threat, however, was never carried out.

Armed clashes and mess in Syria have started since March, 2011. The civil war have killed thousands of Syrians from both armies. The rebels are struggling against the Governmental forces and claim President Bashar al-Assad must resign.