Kidnapped Iranian pilgrim warmly welcomed in Bushehr

11 January 2013, 13:22 (GMT+04:00)

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The kidnapped Iranian pilgrim in Syria was warmly welcomed by local officials and people upon his arrival at Bushehr international airport in this southern province on Friday, IRNA reported.

Mohammad-Taghi Saffari arrived in Iran alongside 47 other kidnapped Iranian pilgrims on Thursday.

They were released and handed over to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus late Wednesday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry embarked on intensive diplomatic campaign to bring the hostages home since their abduction last August.

Previously, Iran's Parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi expressed their gratitude to neighboring countries for helping Iran to bring the pilgrims back.

Syria's opposition has recently released 48 Iranian citizens, detained earlier in Syria.

The Iranian pilgrims arrived in Tehran late Thursday.

Anti-government protests have continued in Syria for more than a year and a half. According to the UN Human Rights Commissioner, the total number of victims of the conflict in Syria exceeds 60,000.