BEIRUT - The Internal Security Forces (ISF) arrested late on Wednesday and early Thursday two members of a gang who ambushed and robbed, one day earlier a group of six students from the American University of Beirut. The six students, who were abducted Wednesday by a group of gunmen in the mountainous region of Aqoura, were released 90 minutes later by their captors in the nearby Homsya town after being stripped of their possessions.

"The Information Branch of the ISF succeeded in arresting one of the members of the gang at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday on board of a navy blue Grand Cherokee vehicle and arrested another one on Thursday," the ISF statement added.

According to the ISF statement, 200 grams of hashish were found in the possession of one of the kidnappers.

On Wednesday, kidnappers exchanged fire with security forces after being tracked until the Britel village of Baalbek and managed to evade pursuit.

The students were on their way to conduct an environmental study in the area when their cars, a Mercedes Benz and a Kia Sportage, were ambushed at 8:30 a.m. by the perpetrators, who were driving a Range Rover.

According to the students, the kidnappers pretended to be security officers and warned them against informing security forces of the incident. The incident occurred amid a spate of car thefts across the country.

AUB's dean of student affairs, Maroun Kisirwani, issued a statement on Thursday in which he confirmed that the six AUB students who were victims of an armed robbery in the Jbeil region one day earlier were "safe and sound."

"The six AUB students were conducting field work projects in the mountainous areas of Faraya-Mayrouba for a geology course they had signed up for, when they were robbed by gunmen of their car and personal belongings," the statement said.

Geology 229 is a course requirement for all geology majors and involves practical field work, during which students study the soil and rock formations of an area, submitting reports on their findings. The course is run by a professor who regularly supervises student groups at their field work site.

"The course has been offered at AUB for over a decade and course coordinators have been organizing such field work without running into any problems before," said Kisirwani. "The chosen area is considered a very safe and touristic area, and includes Lebanese army bases and vacation resorts. We deeply regret that our students were victims of such a crime, but are grateful for their safety. In any case, the university will follow up this breach of security with the authorities and adopt stricter measures in the future. Our students and their safety are our priority." - Daily Star