Previously unknown Syrian group threatens to kidnap Israeli soldiers

A previously unknown group in the Golan Heights threatened Wednesday to abduct Israeli soldiers to swap them for Syrian prisoners in Israel. In a statement faxed to foreign news agencies in Damascus,

a group calling itself the Men of the National Syrian Resistance threatened to "take the necessary measures" to secure the release of 16 Syrians jailed in Israel.

It listed the names of four men it said have been detained in Israel for 22 years. The group said the men had been charged with "resisting Israeli occupation in the Golan." "The continuing detention of our comrades makes us exert all-out efforts to secure their release," the statement said. The group called theirs a "humanitarian and just demand." (AP)