Libyan Prime Minister kidnapped at gun point from hotel

A country where even the prime minister is not safe from kidnapping. Choi. Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was kidnapped in the early hours of this morning from the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli by suspected former rebels who even took a pic of them with him and shared it online (inset).

Mr Zeidan, who became Prime Minister just eleven months ago after living in exile for many years, was seized in what is believed to be retaliation for the capture by American forces of a wanted al-Qaeda-linked operative at the weekend, BBC reports.

"The head of the transitional government, Ali Zeidan, was taken to an unknown destination for unknown reasons," a government statement posted on the prime minister's Facebook site said.

Officials said that two "revolutionary brigades" were responsible for the kidnap - the "Operations Room of Revolutionaries" and the "Brigade for the Fight against Crime". His current whereabout is unknown.

Update: The Libyan president has been released unharmed, government sources say