BEIRUT: The Free Syrian Army has denied a report that five Iranians kidnapped in Homs last year have been moved to north Lebanon, Al-Akhbar newspaper reported Monday, adding that their release depended on the release of Syrian prisoners.

The Free Syrian Army sources told the newspaper that the engineers were not transported to north Lebanon and that they were still in Syria.

Tehran’s English-language Press TV quoted a source in north Lebanon over the weekend saying that five Iranians kidnapped in the restive city of Homs in December had been moved to north Lebanon.

The source, according to the Iranian news agency, was a tribal figure in north Lebanon who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Dec. 21, Press TV reported that five Iranian technicians working in Syria were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in the city of Homs. According to Press TV, two other Iranians, who were trying to obtain information about the missing men, were also kidnapped. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

In early January, a previously unknown Syrian opposition group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the five Iranians in Syria and warned both Iran and Hezbollah of the consequences of supporting Damascus.

The previously unheard of group, calling itself the "Movement against the Shiite tide in Syria,” made the claim in a fax sent to the Nicosia offices of Agence France Presse.

In an article published Monday, Al-Akhbar quoted the Free Syrian Army sources as saying that one of the engineers had been wounded following an attack in Al-Taawuneya district.

The sources told Al-Akhbar that the release of the Iranians depended on the release of Lt. Col. Hussein al-Harmoush, who defected from the Syrian Army in September and later disappeared, and the rest of the detained Syrians.

The United Nations estimates over 5,000 Syrians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the crackdown by Damascus on protesters calling for reforms since mid-March. Syrian authorities blame “armed gangs” for the death of civilians.