Jordan's ambassador to Libya kidnapped in Tripoli
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Jordan's ambassador to Libya was kidnapped Tuesday in central Tripoli, the foreign ministries of both nations said.
Ambassador Fawaz al-Aytan and members of his security detail were abducted and his driver was injured, Jordan's Foreign Ministry said. Libyan state news agency LANA reported the driver, a Moroccan national, was shot during the kidnapping.
A spokesman for the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said masked gunmen in two vehicles ambushed the ambassador's convoy and whisked away al-Aytan.
A diplomatic source said the motive appeared to be to swap the ambassador for the release of a Libyan from a Jordanian jail.
The prime ministers and foreign ministers of Jordan and Libya discussed the situation in phone calls on Tuesday, LANA and Jordan's state news agency Petra reported.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said the kidnappers had not contacted his government, but he held them responsible for the safety of the ambassador.
"Through our permanent mission in New York, we have asked the U.N. Security Council to issue a statement condemning this unacceptable act that targeted Jordan and its diplomatic representation in Libya," Judeh told Petra.
In a separate incident, the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli said Tuesday one of its locally hired employees was abducted. Later, a senior Obama administration official said the woman, who worked for the embassy as a bodyguard, had been located.
There appeared to be no connection to the embassy, and the incident occurred after business hours when the woman was with her boyfriend in his car, another senior administration official said.