On Monday, the Lebanese al-Intiqad website quoted unknown informed sources as saying that the 48 Iranian nationals are in the Qouta region in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, Southwestern Syria.
The report added that the Iranian pilgrims were abducted by the so-called Free Syrian Army.
The sources said there were rumors that the kidnappers have dispersed the Iranians in more than one location in order to prevent their rescue by Syrian security forces.
On August 4, armed insurgents in Syria kidnapped 48 Iranian pilgrims who were traveling on a bus from Damascus International Airport to the shrine of Hazrat Zainab (AS) on the outskirts of Damascus.
Meantime, Iran is using all diplomatic, political and security means to release the 48 Iranian pilgrims.
Ever since the abductions took place, the Foreign Ministry and the Iranian embassy in Damascus have been pursuing the fate and release of the kidnapped Iranian nationals through different channels.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Wednesday that Tehran is trying to free the Iranian pilgrims through Turkey's assistance, and added that he has held meetings with Turkish officials to ask them to do their best to help secure freedom of the Iranian nationals.
Speaking to reporters upon his arrival at Tehran airport after a visit to Turkey, Salehi pointed to his talks with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, and noted that the short visit came after his phone conversation with Davutoglu over the fate of the kidnapped pilgrims in Syria.
"All our efforts are aimed at the immediate release of the abducted pilgrims through Turkey's assistance given Turkey's contacts with some groups in Syria," Salehi stated, adding that Turkey had previously helped Iran free some of its nationals in Syria.
"This time, too, we try to obtain result through Turkey's help," Salehi stated.
Later, Davutoglu said Ankara will ramp up every effort to help secure the release of dozens of Iranian pilgrims recently kidnapped by insurgents in Syria.
"Although Iran and Turkey have different views on Syrian developments, Ankara has always differentiated between political and humanitarian issues and has always been a pioneer in humanitarian issues," Davutoglu told reporters on Wednesday.
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The Iranian pilgrims who were abducted by armed groups in Syria earlier this month are being kept in outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus, media reports said.
News ID 182455
