‘Abductions target Syrian economy’ - Gayo Lues

“The terrorists [in Syria] are trying to create fear among Iranian pilgrims and think such measures will cause Iran to withdraw its support for the Syrian nation and government,” Mehdi Mehdizadeh said Friday.

On Wednesday, gunmen attacked a bus carrying pilgrims on the way to Damascus, kidnapping 11 Iranian nationals.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said the country’s embassy in Damascus has stepped up efforts to determine the fate of the abducted Iranians and to secure their release.

Mehdizadeh, who is a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said by abducting Iranian pilgrims and engineers, terrorist groups want to damage Tehran-Damascus relations and push the Syrian economy to bankruptcy.

The lawmaker stressed that the Syrian government must step up efforts to secure the safety of Iranians in the country.

This is not the first time that Iranians have been abducted by unknown gunmen in Syria over the past months. On December 21, five Iranian electrical engineers were also kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the restive Syrian city of Homs.

Two other Iranians, who were trying to obtain information about the missing men, were also kidnapped, and their location is still unknown.

On January 26, unidentified gunmen attacked a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims en route to the northwestern city of Aleppo. The assailants kidnapped 11 men and drove off to an unknown destination, leaving behind female. Their fate still remains unknown.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March and many people have lost their lives in the violence.

The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing protesters. But Damascus blames ”outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups” for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

MR/HGH