Libyan PM Ali Zeidan Freed By Kidnappers

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has been released hours after being seized in Tripoli by militiamen loosely allied to the government.

The Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room had detained Mr Zeidan, claiming it was acting on orders from the prosecutor general.

The justice ministry denied this.

The militia was one of several groups angered by a US commando raid on Libyan soil on Saturday in which senior al-Qaeda suspect Anas al-Liby was seized.

Many saw the raid as a breach of Libyan sovereignty. There is growing pressure on the government to explain if it was involved but in a statement, the Revolutionaries Operations Room (LROR) said its actions had not been related to Mr Liby's detention.

The official Lana news agency also named another formal rebel group, the Brigade for the Fight against Crime, as being involved.

Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdelaziz later told AFP news agency that Mr Zeidan had been freed, but added: "We have no details so far on the circumstances of his release."

A government spokesman quoted by official Libyan news agency Lana also said the prime minister was free and on his way to his office.

It was unclear whether the militia had released the prime minister voluntarily or whether other security forces had intervened.