BEIRUT — The Lebanese army says it has freed four Syrian hostages who were abducted last month by a powerful Shiite Muslim clan.

The al-Mikdad clan kidnapped more than 20 Syrian nationals and a Turk in Lebanon in August in retaliation for the abduction of one of their relatives in neighboring Syria.

Most already have been released. The Lebanese army said in a statement Tuesday that it freed four Syrians during an overnight raid.

The kidnappings are the latest sign of how the Syrian civil war is spilling over into Lebanon. It's a troubling sign for a country that has gone through its own 15-year civil war and has an explosive sectarian mix.

Lebanon also has deep divisions between pro- and anti-Syrian factions.