Libyan security rescues 2 kidnapped IOM officials

TRIPOLI, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Libyan security on Saturday rescued two out of three International Organization for Migration (IOM) officials who were kidnapped in southern Libya, according to a security official.

Rescuing work is still undergoing for the third official, Rania Kharma, according to the security, and it is "likely to be done in a short while."

The IOM officials, two Libyans and one Spanish of Palestinian origin, were kidnapped on the way from the capital Tripoli to the nearby Al-Shati city, said Sa'adi Mohammed Ali, head of the Security Directorate of the southern city Sabha.

The two Libyan abductees were found in a suburb of Sabha, some 800 km southwest of Tripoli, he said.

"Investigation revealed that the kidnapping took place outside Sabha. Perhaps the kidnappers entered Sabha through a desert route after the kidnapping was done," said Ali.

The IOM in Libya is carrying out a number of field visits to southern Libya, as a part of the organization's voluntary repatriation program for illegal immigrants from Libya to their countries of origin. Enditem