TEL AVIV, Israeli -- The KGB won the release of three kidnapped Soviet diplomats in Beirut by sending a key Moslem fundamentalist leader the severed testicles of an abducted relative and threatening more such mutilations, an Israeli news report said Monday.
The three Soviet Embassy officials were released unharmed Oct. 30.
The fourth had been killed two days after the four were kidnapped in Moslem West Beirut Sept. 30.
The Islamic Liberation Organization said it seized the four diplomats to press demands that Moscow force Syria to end an offensive by Syrian-backed militias against Moslem fundamentalists in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli.
No explanation was given at the time as to how the Soviet hostages were freed, but the Jerusalem Post, quoting 'reliable sources' in Jerusalem, said the KGB was instrumental in obtaining their release.
The KGB, the Post said, kidnapped a Lebanese man, castrated him and sent the severed testicles to his relative, a key fundamentalist leader. The Soviet secret service then threatened that other family members would be dealt with in a similar fashion if the three Soviet hostages were not immediately released.
The castrated captive had been shot in the head and killed, the Post said.
