American officials have been unable to verify claims by Lebanese guerrillas that they are holding an American soldier and his 10-year-old son hostage in Turkey.
A group calling themselves the Lebanese Freedom Fighters have threatened to kill the two hostages, Lt. Col. Mike Couillard and his 10-year-old son Matthew, if Israel does not release Mustafa Dirani, also known as Abu Ali, who was abducted from Lebanon’s Bekka Valley by Israeli commandos last May.
The Couillards have not returned from a skiing trip in western Turkey, but the Lebanese guerrillas have refused to provide proof that they are holding the two.
An Israeli official in New York said that “Israel has not been approached by anybody,” and would not comment about the alleged abduction.
The U.S. State Department continues to view the claim that the Couillards were kidnapped with “a high level of skepticism,” a State Department spokesperson said, adding that “as long as the bodies are missing we have to take the threat seriously.”
Bad weather has hampered search efforts at the ski resort where the Couillards were last seen.
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