Four kidnapped aid workers in Syria freed, three others still captive
The International Red Cross shows Druze pilgrims crossing from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights into Syria on Sept. 15, 2011.
Three of six Red Cross aid workers and a volunteer with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent who were abducted on Sunday in Syria's Idlib area were released on Monday, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Syria's regime-run news outlet, quoted an unidentified official on Sunday who claimed the aid workers had been shot at, captured and taken to an unknown location.
"An armed terrorist group today kidnapped a number of workers in the mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria," the article said.
The news of the release broke via a tweet from Robert Mardini, head of ICRC operations for the Near and Middle East.
"Of course this type of incident is terrible because it is disruptive and puts in jeopardy our operations in Syria," Mardini told Reuters.
The abduction of journalists and aid workers has become increasingly common in Syria. The state of the other abducted aid workers remained unclear.