Two pilots working for Turkish Airlines have been abducted in Lebanon, near Beirut’s international airport, BBC reports.
The men were snatched from a bus which was carrying several other crew members and passengers between a hotel and the airport terminal.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the incident, but it is thought to be related to the conflict in Syria.
Turkey backs Syria’s Sunni rebels while much of Lebanon’s Shia community supports the Assad regime.
Nine Lebanese Shias were abducted in Syria last year, and their families have urged Turkey to help secure their release.
Lebanon’s Interior Minister, Marwan Charbel, told the AFP news agency that the abduction happened at 03:00 local time (00:00 GMT), on a bus “carrying several members of a Turkish Airlines crew going from the airport to the hotel.”
At least four gunmen were reported to be involved in the kidnapping.
Turkish media named the kidnapped men as pilot Murat Aktumer and his co-pilot Murat Agca.
Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Levent Gumrukcu told Reuters that he had already been in contact with the Lebanese authorities over the incident and that they were conducting a “very comprehensive investigation.”
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