By: IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer (AP) Palestinian gunmen briefly kidnapped an American and a British journalist on Wednesday as the pair drove through the central Gaza town of Khan Younis, one of the abducted journalists said.
Dion Nissenbaum, an American reporter for the Knight Ridder newspaper chain, and British photographer Adam Pletts, who was working on contract for Knight Ridder, were freed Wednesday night after several hours in captivity, Nissenbaum said.
Palestinian security officials said the men had been kidnapped by a renegade group of members of the ruling Fatah party. They said Fatah officials and Palestinian security officers negotiated their release.
Militant groups have kidnapped foreigners in increasingly chaotic Gaza recently, usually as bargaining chips to get relatives released from Palestinian prisons or to secure jobs from the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinian security officials said the journalists were traveling down Gaza's coastal road with a Palestinian translator when two cars filled with gunmen drove up and stopped them. The armed men let the translator go, but abducted the reporters and drove south in the direction of the Gaza town of Rafah, police said.
Before the men were released, Knight Ridder said it was working to get them freed. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli also said the United States was working with senior officials from the Palestinian Authority to bring about their release.
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