On 2 February 2013, the Lebanese army was the victim of an armed ambush in the northeastern town of Arsal, during which three officers were killed as it was seeking to arrest Khaled Homayed, who is believed to have been behind the kidnapping.

[9] Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet established an Intra-Institutional Crisis Committee on 23 March in order to coordinate Estonia's activities in relation to the incident and provide regular updates to President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

[11] Lebanese security forces focused their search efforts on the Beqaa Valley region, an area known for its lawlessness and rivalries between clans over control of hashish production and trade.

[12] Some media were quick to suggest that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC) was behind the kidnapping, owing to its dominant influence in the area.

[13] One Lebanese newspaper speculated that the kidnapping may have been related to Israel's abduction of Palestinian engineer Dirar Abu Seesi in Ukraine a few weeks earlier.

A second source quoted by the newspaper proposed that a pro-Syrian group such as Fatah al-Intifada or an organization loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi may have been behind the abduction.

[16] Estonian foreign minister Urmas Paet arrived in Lebanon early Monday, 28 March, for face-to-face deliberations with Lebanese authorities.

[18] The Lebanese daily Ya Libnan reported that security sources posited a connection between the kidnapping and the bombing of a Syriac Orthodox church in Zahle on 27 March.

[23][24] Late in the day on 30 March, an obscure group calling itself Harakat al Nahda wal-Islah (The Movement for Renewal and Reform), led by Wael Abbas, claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

"[30] Chief of the Internal Security Forces Major General Ashraf Rifi told Lebanese daily as-Safir that two groups were involved in the incident – one that abducted the Estonian cyclists and another that "cooperated in transferring the hostages to another place.

26 of the 29 were accused of kidnapping the cyclists, establishing ties with Fatah al-Islam, firing at police, killing a member of the Internal Security Forces, bombing stores that sell liquor, vandalizing Christian monuments, and other crimes.