Government-backed group releases 2 Jordanians in Syria’s Daraa
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – An armed group affiliated with the Syrian government released on Friday two Jordanian drivers, 20 days after abducting them in Daraa Governorate, southern Syria.
A local source told North Press that the drivers, Maher Bashir Abdullah al-Sufi and Mahmoud Samih Ahmad Oweida, were released by a government-affiliated armed group led by Muhammad al-Elwan, known as Abu Nibal.
The source said that the group, which operates out of the Lajat area in the eastern countryside of Daraa, handed over the drivers to the Eighth Brigade of the government forces, which will transfer them to the Jordanian side through the Nasib-Jaber border crossing between Syria and Jordan.
The source added that the drivers were released without the payment of any ransom, despite the group’s earlier demand for $150,000 from one of the detainees’ families.
On Aug. 26, the families of both al-Sufi and Oweida reported losing contact with their sons who were last seen in the town of Khabab, north of Daraa. They were reportedly waiting to transport passengers back to Jordan when communication was lost.
The Jordanian news website al-Wakeel earlier reported that the kidnappers demanded a ransom of $150,000 via the mobile phone of one of the drivers, according to Fathiya Mahjoub, mother of Muhammad Oweida.