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Five Egyptian soldiers held hostage in Libya freed

Sudan

Five Egyptian soldiers held hostage in Libya were released Monday during a joint operation by Sudanese and Egyptian intelligence services, security officials in both countries have said.

A Sudanese security service official said the soldiers were captured along the Egyptian-Libyan border and detained in southern Libya,. The Egyptian army claimed they were part of a missing patrol.

“Five Egyptian soldiers who were kidnapped along the border between Libya and Egypt and held hostage by outlaws were released on Monday,” said Mohamed Hamid, an officer of the Service. National Security and Intelligence Agency (NISS) in Sudan.

The rescue operation was conducted in coordination with the NISS, the Sudanese military intelligence and the Egyptian intelligence services, Hamid added.

He told reporters at Khartoum airport after the soldiers arrived in Sudan that the soldiers were released in southern Libya, but did not specify the date of their abduction.

“They were handed over to the Egyptian intelligence services,” he added, saying the operation lasted several days.

The Egyptian army has confirmed the release of its soldiers.

“The Egyptian armed forces thank the Sudanese armed forces and security services for their cooperation in the return of the missing patrol,” Egyptian military spokesman Colonel Tamer Refaie told AFP in Cairo.

A security services source quoted by the Sudanese Media Center , a NISS correspondent, said the five soldiers had been released during an operation carried out by NISS agents.

AFP

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