Hostage’s Sister Seeks Syrian Aid

The sister of a correspondent held by Muslim extremists in Lebanon arrived in Damascus on Sunday to seek Syrian help in freeing him and four other American hostages.

Peggy Say, 45, of Batavia, N.Y., the sister of hostage Terry A. Anderson, arrived from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and was met at the airport by Greek charge d’affaires Dionyssios Kogellas. She said she has no meetings scheduled but will be in contact with the Syrian Foreign Ministry to set up appointments.

Anderson, the chief Mideast correspondent of the Associated Press, was kidnaped in Beirut on March 16, 1985.

Syria, with about 25,000 troops in eastern and northern Lebanon, is regarded as the main power broker there.

In addition to Anderson, 38, the American hostages are Father Lawrence M. Jenco, 52, a Roman Catholic priest; David P. Jacobsen, 55, director of the American University Hospital in Beirut; Thomas Sutherland, 55, dean of agriculture at the university; and William Buckley, 57, a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

Islamic Jihad, believed to be a Shia Muslim group loyal to Iran, has said it kidnaped the five men. It reported killing Buckley last October, but his body has not been found.