The Lebanese Army Intelligence Directorate released on Sunday a person close to the family of Major General Maher al-Assad, the brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The man was kidnapped in the Bekaa region two weeks ago. He was taken to Beirut in order to investigate the circumstances of his abduction, the group behind the operation, and his place of detention. In a statement, the Lebanese Army’s Guidance Directorate said that in wake of the kidnapping of Syrian citizen Hussein al-Ali in the area of Bekaa, the Army Intelligence adopted a series of measures to track down the kidnapped, who was freed and was now in the Army’s safe custody. The statement added that the Directorate of Intelligence was pursuing investigations to arrest those involved in the operation. Lebanese security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the reasons behind the kidnap were still unknown, adding that al-Ali was close to the family of Maher al-Assad. The sources pointed to some assumptions that he was the bodyguard of Assad’s wife. The security sources explained that the man’s liberation was made through pressure exerted by the Army on groups close to the kidnappers.