Father of Assad spokesman Mekdad kidnapped in Syria
The man, said to be in his 80s, was seized from his village home in the southern province of Daraa, government and opposition sources said.
No group said they had carried out the abduction but rebels have targeted the families of officials in the past.
Relatives of one of the suspected kidnappers were reportedly arrested.
Mr Mekdad's father was abducted in the village of Ghossom on Saturday, the deputy foreign minister's office was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
According to a Facebook post by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based opposition body which monitors news from Syria, "regime forces have since detained relatives of a suspect thought to be involved in the kidnapping".
Adding that "rebel battalions and factions have denied responsibility of the action", the Observatory noted that an undeclared agreement to cease mutual kidnappings was supposed to have taken effect in Daraa on Friday.
Faisal Mekdad has given interviews to Western media, defending President Bashar al-Assad.
Last month he told the BBC's Jeremy Bowen that Syria was facing a conspiracy by the West and al-Qaeda to destroy its independence but he insisted the government was "winning the war".
Since the uprising against Mr Assad began just over two years ago, the UN estimates that at least 80,000 people have been killed and some 4.25 million people have been displaced from their homes.
BBC
