Two abducted engineers freed

Tehran: Two Iranians kidnapped in Syria in December and freed with the help of Turkish mediation arrived in Tehran on Thursday, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Majid Qanbar Beedroomi and Ahad Sohrabi Kordabadi were among seven Iranian engineers abducted near central Homs city, where they worked at an electricity plant for Iran's Power Plant Projects Management Company, according to Iranian officials.

After their liberation, the two Iranians were brought to Turkey, which has demanded Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's departure over a bloody 15-month crackdown on protests that has seen some regime opponents take up arms.

Turkey's help

They were greeted on Thursday by Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs, Hassan Ghashghavi, who thanked "the efforts of Turkey, a friendly and brotherly country" that enabled the release of two engineers.

Ghashghavi said he hoped "close cooperation with the Turkish government could allow the early release of the other engineers."

An unknown group calling itself the "Movement Against the Expansion of Shiism in Syria" claimed responsibility for the Iranians' abduction in a statement received by AFP in January.