(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - An-Nahar newspaper reported on Tuesday that Minister of Foreign Affairs Adnan Mansour said the Lebanese Shia men who were abducted last week in Syria’s Aleppo were still on Syrian territory.

“Mansour informed Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi during a meeting [on Monday] that the kidnapped men were in Syria, [in region that is] controlled by the [Syrian] opposition and supervised by Turkey,” the daily said.

“[Mansour added] that Turkey will continue intermediating the release of the pilgrims,” An-Nahar reported.

According to various media reports, 11 Lebanese Shia men were kidnapped in Aleppo province as they were returning home by bus from a pilgrimage in Iran. Their families said that they were abducted by Syrian rebels. The Free Syrian Army, however, denied the accusation.

The National News Agency reported Friday that the pilgrims had been released and that Mikati received a call from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan who assured him they were "safe and on their way to Beirut."

However, the current location of the abductees is unknown amid conflicting reports.

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