Syrian rebels have released 48 Iranian pilgrims abducted some five months ago in Damascus, Turkish and Iranian media reported on Wednesday.
The Syrian government has started releasing 2,130 opposition prisoners in exchange for the release of the Iranians, in a deal brokered by Qatar and Turkey.
"Foreign-backed militants in Syria have released the 48 Iranian pilgrims who had been abducted near the capital city of Damascus," Iranian Press TV reported. Turkey's Anatolian news agency also confirmed their release.
The Iranian hostages were abducted in August by Syrian rebel group Al-Baraa Brigade. Tehran said the hostages were on pilgrimage when they were seized from the bus, while rebels claimed they were members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard who were fighting in Syria
The Islamic-Turkish aid organization IHH, which is helping to carry out the deal, said several of the prisoners held by the Syrian government are Turkish nationals, and 73 of those detained are women.
Syrian state-run media has not yet reported on the prisoner exchange.
Heavy fighting was underway in areas across Syria, despite a heavy severe storm hitting the war-torn country and neighbouring regions.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four children from the same family were among as many as 10 civilians killed in an air strike near the central province of Homs.
The raid hit the village of Jabab Hamad, the watchdog said, adding that the siblings ages varied from seven months to 16 years.
In Zabadani, at the outskirts of Damascus, rebels from the Free Syrian Army managed to take control of three army checkpoints at the entrance of the city after troops tried to storm the area.
In the northern province of Aleppo, fighting erupted around the Menagh, Kwiyres and Nayrab airbases, which have been under rebel siege for weeks, the watchdog said
More than 60,000 people have been killed since the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule erupted in March 2011, according to recent UN figures.
Activists said bad weather conditions was making the lives of citizens very difficult, due to constant electricity outage and lack of fuel.
"We fear that today we will have casualties not only from the government shelling, but as a result of the freezing weather," Omar Homsi, a Homs-based activist, told dpa.