Terrorists still have 7 Iranian engineers

An Iranian energy generation giant says terrorists still have seven of its engineers, who were abducted in the Syrian city of Homs in late December, in their custody. MAPNA Group, a group of Iranian companies involved in the construction and installation of energy production machinery, released a statement on Sunday saying it has received no word on the fate of its abducted technicians. The report comes as MAPNA Group had earlier stated that Iranians were involved in an electricity project in Syria, and had nothing to do with the unrest in the Arab state. The Iranian energy group has, meanwhile, appealed to the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Consuelo Vidal, Amnesty International, and the International Committee of the Red Cross as well as Syrian authorities to secure the release of its kidnapped technicians. The kidnapers are believed to be affiliated to the terrorist “Free Syrian Army.” Five Iranian electrical engineers were abducted at 6:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on December 21 after a group of unknown gunmen attacked their convoy in Homs. They were on their way to work at the city's Jandar power plant, which has been under construction by Iranian technicians for the past two years. Two more Iranian specialists, who were trying to determine the fate of the five abducted engineers, have also been kidnapped and there has been no immediate report on their whereabouts. Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March of last year. While the West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of the killings, Damascus blames ''outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups'' for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad. In interviews with Israeli news outlets over the past few months, the Syrian armed rebels have clearly expressed their vision for the future of Syria and their interest in establishing ties with the Tel Aviv regime, which has occupied and annexed Syria's Golan Heights since 1967. Syrians have repeatedly expressed their solidarity with the government of President Bashar al-Assad.