Tourists turned hostages: Lebanese Army rescues two Iraqis after cross-border kidnapping

Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

Lebanese Army Intelligence freed two Iraqi nationals who were kidnapped and taken across the Lebanese-Syrian border after being lured to Lebanon under the pretext of tourism, the army said in a statement.

On the last day of August 2025, Abbas al-Janabi and Amjad al-Shaibani arrived at Beirut Airport for what was intended to be a tourist trip. From the airport, they headed to Jounieh, where a Lebanese man known as “Abou Chahine” offered to help them move around and visit tourist sites.

That evening in Jounieh, the two Iraqis had dinner with Abou Chahine, who had invited a Syrian national identified as A. al-Hajjeh. The Iraqis returned to a hotel in Beirut’s Raoucheh district that night.

The next morning, Abou Chahine returned to the hotel with al-Hajjeh and offered to take the two men on a trip to the al-Assi river in Hermel, northern Lebanon. The plan appeared harmless, but along the way al-Hajjeh exited the vehicle, and Abou Chahine continued driving the Iraqis alone toward a remote mountainous area near the Qaa area.

There, he handed them over to three masked gunmen who arrived on a motorcycle. The armed men took the Iraqis across the border into Syria, where they were transferred to a gold-colored Tahoe SUV, blindfolded and handcuffed. Once inside Syrian territory, the kidnappers stole $7,000 in cash and two iPhones from the victims.

Al-Janabi and al-Shaibani were held in an isolated agricultural room and subjected to daily torture and beatings over a period of 50 days. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of $200,000 from their families. To increase pressure, they forced the two men to record a video falsely claiming affiliation with Hezbollah.

According to the Lebanese army, the investigation found that the kidnapping had been pre-coordinated between Abou Chahine and al-Hajjeh. Army Intelligence arrested al-Hajjah, along with another Syrian national identified as M. al-Khatib, who had received more than $5,000 from the families of the victims after falsely claiming he could help secure their release. 

After weeks of surveillance and intelligence work, Army Intelligence carried out a targeted operation in Qaa in Hermel. Members of the kidnapping ring were lured from inside Syrian territory to the Lebanese border, where the two Iraqi captives were freed unharmed after nearly two months in captivity.

The army said the case is a reminder that kidnappings often begin with false promises, including friendly offers, tourism arrangements or free trips. Authorities urged visitors and residents to rely only on trusted transportation and travel services and avoid unknown intermediaries who may pose serious risks.