3 foreign hostages freed in Libya

By Seif al-Trabulsi and Walid Dokan

TRIPOLI (AA) – Libyan forces have freed two Italians and a Canadian, who had been kidnapped in the North African country, according to a local Libyan official.

“The three hostages have been released,” Qomani Mohamed, the municipal chief of the southern town of Ghat, told Anadolu Agency on Friday.

A Libyan security source said the three hostages had been freed in an operation by forces aligned with the Libyan Presidential Council.

He said the three foreigners had been held in a desert area in southern Libya, declining to give further details.

Mohamed said the operation to free the hostages had taken place in a desert area on Libya’s border with Algeria.

The Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the three hostages – who had been kidnapped on Sept. 19 by a group of armed men -- had been freed and returned safely to Italy.

It said in a statement their release was due to "the efficient collaboration of local Libyan authorities" but did not provide details.

Libya has been locked in a state of violence and turmoil since 2011, when a bloody popular uprising ended with the ouster and death of longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi.