Earlier in the day, General Security Chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim told the Al-Manar TV that the release of the abducted nuns was delayed for several hours after "logistical" obstacles related to the region’s geography emerged in the final stages of a swap deal.
The nuns headed through al-Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria into Jdeidet Yabous inside the Syrian territory where their reception was attended by clerics.
It is noteworthy that when the armed groups entered into the historic town Maaloula in Damascus in December, they kidnapped 12 nuns, both Syrian and Lebanonese, from the monastery of Mar Takla.