DHAKA: At least four Egyptian embassy personnel have been kidnapped in the Libyan capital Tripoli.

The Libyan foreign ministry says, reports the BBC.

A spokesman said a cultural attache was among those seized by unknown gunmen.

Another embassy official was seized in the Libyan capital on Friday.

Several kidnappings of officials in Libya recently have been blamed on militias. They are often paid by the government, but their allegiance and who controls them remain in doubt.

An Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman, Badr Abd-al-Ati, said that the abducted attache had contacted embassy staff in Tripoli to say he was being well-treated, Egypt’s Mena news agency reported.

High profile contacts were underway to free the personnel, the agency added.

BDST: 1636 HRS, JAN 25, 2014