Jordan's ambassador to Libya kidnapped in Tripoli

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-jordan-libya-kidnap-20140415,0,7058428.story



Libyan security officers stand in front of the Jordanian Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, after Ambassador Fawaz Itan was kidnapped by masked gunmen.

Jordan's ambassador to Libya kidnapped in Tripoli
By Sherif Tarek
April 15, 2014, 1:17 p.m.

Jordan's ambassador to Libya was abducted by armed assailants Tuesday while heading to his Tripoli office, the latest official taken hostage in the unstable North African country.

Masked kidnappers opened fire on the vehicle in which Ambassador Fawaz Itan was a passenger, wounding the driver, said Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Nsour in a briefing to members of the lower house of parliament.

The driver was hospitalized, according to Jordan's official Petra news agency.

The identity of the abductors and their motive have yet to be officially confirmed. Reuters news agency quoted Essam Baitelmel, a member of the team investigating the abduction, as saying the kidnappers wanted Islamist Libyan militant Mohamed Dersi to be released from a Jordanian prison in return for the envoy’s freedom.