Kidnapped Turk arrives back home

ANKARA — A Turkish hostage kidnapped by a Lebanese Shiite clan in Beirut arrived in Turkey early Wednesday after he was freed, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Aydin Tufan Tekin, a businessman who was abducted by the Muqdad clan along with 20 Syrians in southern Beirut last month, was the last in the group to be released.

Tekin landed at the Dalaman airport in Mugla province in southwestern Turkey at 0210 local time after traveling on Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s private jet, reported Anatolia.

He was being accompanied by Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and Turkish ambassador to Beirut Inan Ozyildiz, it added.

Speaking to reporters at the airport, Tekin said his release after 27 days was just like a “dream.”

Both the Turkish and Lebanese governments worked hard to secure his release, he said.

He also indicated that he was not treated badly by his captors. — AFP