Damascus, Aug 5 (IANS): Forty-eight Iranian Shia pilgrims kidnapped near Damascus Saturday were released, Xinhua reported.
The Iranians were planning to visit a shrine near here when they were abducted.
Kidnappings have become common in Syria lately, as the country's political crisis veered toward a sectarian rift between majority Sunnis and the ruling Alawitte, an offshoot of Shiism.