He said the hostage takers were young, fundamentalist Arabs, who did not belong to the governing side nor to the insurgents in Syria.

He said the hostages had been kept in a dark cellar for two weeks during which the kidnappers gave them a few canned food items and a little water, but they had no opportunity to wash.

He said the kidnappers’ attention began to waver in the last few days and they then disappeared.

The prisoners escaped from the cellar and found a mobile phone, with which one of them called his family.

Nearby government soldiers were able to trace the call and locate the hostages.

The Hungarians are under the exclusive supervision of the TEK somewhere in the Middle East, prime ministerial press chief Bertalan Havasi told reporters, adding that they may return to Hungary in three to five days.

The three, all aged around 40, were kidnapped in Damascus on August 13. All are former policemen.

Gunmen kidnapped two Hungarians in north-east Syria in late April. There have been no news reports about them since.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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