Two U.S. tourists FREED after being kidnapped by Bedouin tribesmen in Egypt

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: | Updated:

Two American tourists abducted by Bedouins in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula were released unharmed Thursday following negotiations between local tribesmen and the kidnappers, a security official said.

The Bedouins snatched the two men early Thursday as they were traveling by car from Dahab to Nuweiba, resort towns on the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba, according to official reports.

The two men, in their 30s, were riding in a rented car when they were stopped at a roadblock by protesting Bedouins, who were demanding release of one of their tribesmen held by security over a drug trafficking charge, the officials said.

Egypt's Sinai region has seem an upsurge in lawlessness in recent months with Bedouin tribesmen blamed for a series of attempts to snatch tourists

Egypt's Sinai region has seem an upsurge in lawlessness in recent months with Bedouin tribesmen blamed for a series of attempts to snatch tourists

However, their local driver was released and he was able to inform authorities of the kidnapping.

'The tourists are with Egyptian security now,' a security source said. 'They were released after successful negotiations with the army, with the mediation of Bedouin sheikhs.'

The head of South Sinai security, Maj. Gen. Mahmoud el-Hifnawi, said that the two men, were at the local police station after hours of negotiations between tribesmen and the kidnappers.

He added that they were in good health.

Security officials believe that the latest kidnapping was carried out by Bedouins protesting Tuesday's arrest of fellow tribesman Eid Suleiman Aytawi on suspicion of trafficking in drugs.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, authorities confirmed that they released the tribesman accused of drug trafficking.

The abduction was the latest in a series of kidnappings in Sinai, which has seen a surge in lawlessness over the last year.

The pair were kidnapped while traveling by car from Dahab (pictured) to the resort of Nuweiba

The pair were kidnapped while traveling by car from Dahab (pictured) to the resort of Nuweiba

Bedouins have been kidnapping tourists to pressure authorities to release detained relatives or to improve basic services in their areas.

'We have been seeing repeated harassment by the police and sometimes the army lately. People had had enough and took the two tourists,' said Sheikh Ahmed Hussein, a tribal leader from South Sinai.

This was a rare instance of authorities accepting the demands of kidnappers.

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