Two foreign TV journalists and their two Lebanese assistants were abducted by the Hezbollah militia in Beirut on Thursday on suspicion of spying, a Lebanese internal security forces officer said.
“The crew was filming in the area of the Sanayeh gardens [a public park] when Hezbollah elements seized them on suspicion of being spies,” the officer told Agence France-Presse.
He declined to give the nationalities of the two foreigners or the media organisation for which they worked.
A witness said he saw a car with tinted windows roll up beside the journalists and ask them for identification. They were then grabbed by the occupants and a brief scuffle ensued before the journalists were pushed into the car and whisked off.
The witness said two Lebanese, one male and one female, were also taken.
Police and Lebanese troops deployed in the area immediately after the abduction to investigate. “We are trying to resolve the issue,” the security officer said. — AFP