Syria rebels want troop pullback before freeing U.N. men

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels holding 21 U.N. peacekeepers near the Golan Heights in southern Syria say government forces must stop their bombardment and leave the area before their "guests" can be freed, a rebel activist said.

"They will be passed to safe hands when possible - because the area is surrounded and the Assad regime is bombarding it," said Abu Essam Taseel, from the media office of the "Martyrs of Yarmouk" rebel brigade which detained the Filipino peacekeepers.