BEIRUT: Two Lebanese men from Akroum in north Lebanon were briefly kidnapped by members of the Syrian army, a security source said Thursday.

After six members of the Syrian army infiltrated the border town, the two Lebanese men, cousins from the Daher family, were taken at gunpoint to the Syrian border village of Heet at dawn Wednesday, the source told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity.

The Dahers had worked with relatives in Heet prior to the outbreak of the uprising in Syria in March, the source added.

The two men were released later Wednesday after pressure from Heet residents, who besieged the Syrian army military base where the Dahers were being held.

The source said members of the Internal Security Forces have questioned the Dahers about the incident.

Separately, the security source said two wounded Syrian army soldiers who crossed into Lebanon Wednesday were transported to a hospital in north Lebanon for treatment.

The soldiers were wounded in the Syrian town of Al-Qusair, southwest of Homs, the source said.

Also Thursday, the Lebanese Army confiscated illegal shipments being smuggled into Syria, a security source said. The source said the shipments – carried by five four-wheel-drive cars – included alcohol, foreign tobacco and electrical appliances.

They were intercepted in Rashaya, southeast Lebanon, as the smugglers attempted to get the consignment into Syria over the porous Lebanon-Syria border, the source added.

Last week, the Lebanese army confiscated two shipments of electrical appliances and children’s toys being smuggled into Syria.