Lebanese, Syrians seized in retaliatory abductions

At least seven Lebanese and Syrian citizens have been kidnapped in northern Lebanon near the border with Syria, the first such reported abductions fuelled by tensions over the uprising in Syria that have spilled into its small neighbor.

Residents said on Monday the abductions started on Saturday when a hardline Sunni Lebanese supporter of the Syrian revolt against President Bashar Assad was kidnapped by Lebanese Alawites. A string of tit-for-tat abductions along sectarian lines followed over the weekend, they said. (Reuters)