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| Syrian rebels take position with an anti-aircraft heavy machine gun in the northern city of Aleppo on Wednesday, September 26. |
The pilgrims were abducted in August.
In the video, a rebel officer --
dressed in camouflage and standing in front of what appeared to be a group of
hostages -- addressed the Iranian and Syrian governments.
The officer said his group had
tried to negotiate with Syrian authorities for the hostages' release in
exchange for that of rebels held in regime prisons, but those efforts failed
"because of the reluctance of both the Iranian and Syrian regimes."
Therefore,
he continued, "Unless they start releasing our people from their prisons
and cease the shelling of the innocent civilians in our cities and the ongoing
random slaughter, within 48 hours, starting from the moment this statement is
read, we inform you that for every martyr who gets killed by the Syrian regime,
we will kill one of the Iranian hostages."
