Turkish pilots kidnapped in Lebanon are still alive

Two Turkish pilots kidnapped in Lebanon earlier this month are still alive, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç is quoted by Hürriyet Daily News as saying on Monday.

The pilots were kidnapped on August 9 when gunmen ambushed a bus carrying the national airliner’s crew from Beirut airport to a hotel in the city.

The deputy prime minister also says the government knows where the pilots are kept. “Their whereabouts are more or less known. We know that they are alive, in peace and comfort,” Arınç said.