Nine Lebanese pilgrims held hostage in Syria for 17 months arrived in Beirut after being freed in exchange for two Turkish Airlines pilots seized in Lebanon in August. The Shia pilgrims were greeted by cabinet ministers and other senior officials from across the political spectrum in Lebanon on Saturday night, as relatives broke out into tears and cries of joy on their return. The two pilots were freed on the same day as part of an exchange for the nine, the official Lebanese news agency NNA said. Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons in Beirut and Omar al Saleh in Antakya provide more details of the events.