Lebanese officials say Saudi Arabian citizen kidnapped in Beirut, motive unclear

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s interior minister and security officials say assailants have kidnapped a Saudi Arabian citizen in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. But they say the motive behind the abduction was not immediately clear. State-run Saudi TV station Al-Ekhbariya reported Monday that the kidnapped man works for Saudi national airlines Saudia and that the unidentified kidnappers have demanded a $400,000 ransom. The officials in Beirut said the man was kidnapped around midnight Saturday on the road leading to Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport and search operations were underway to find him.