SYRIAN rebels have freed 48 Iranian hostages in exchange for the release of more than 2000 civilian prisoners held by the Syrian government, a Turkish aid agency has said.
The Syrian rebel al Baraa brigade seized the Iranians in August, saying they were members of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent to fight for Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
The Islamic republic, an ally of Mr Assad, denied this, saying they were Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims visiting shrines, and it asked Turkey and Qatar to help secure their release.
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