Lebanon's Ad-Diyar newspaper on Tuesday night reported new details on the disappearance of former Lebanese security official Ahmad Shukr, who was allegedly abducted by Mossad due to his connection with Israeli MIA soldier Ron Arad.
According to the report, Shukr was apparently lured to the Al-Sunwara area in his hometown of Nabi Shayth in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, where his mobile phone signals were monitored for 37 seconds before all traces of him vanished.
According to Ad-Diyar, Shukr may have have been transferred through the Mount Hermon area, along with his companion from the Al-Kassab family.
Lebanese media suggested two theories for the Shukr's disappearance: that he cooperated and willingly left Lebanon, and that he was kidnapped.
The Saudi Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published a report from a Lebanese source stating that the kidnapping was carried out by two Swedish citizens, one of whom is of Lebanese descent. According to the source, the two arrived in Lebanon only two days before Shukr’s disappearance via Rafik Hariri International Airport. One of the suspects has left the country, while the other is believed to still in Lebanon, though it is possible that the individual is an intelligence agent using a false identity and has since vanished.
The investigation, according to the source, relies on security camera footage and communication data analysis, which revealed initial clues that Shukr was the victim of a trap and kidnapping.
Shukr comes from a family with ties to Hezbollah, and his disappearance has reignited the controversy surrounding the case of Israeli navigator Ron Arad, who was abducted in southern Lebanon in 1986. Shukr’s brother, Hassan Shukr, was a Hezbollah operative who was killed during Operation "Law and Order" in 1988, when IDF forces raided Hezbollah bases. It is also claimed that Hassan Shukr was a fighter in a group led by Mustafa Dirani, which, according to reports, took part in kidnapping Ron Arad and later transferred him to the home of a family member in the village of Nabi Shayth, before he vanished.