2 kidnapped Tunisian diplomats return from Libya

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Two Tunisian diplomats held for months by gunmen in Libya flew home Monday to an airport welcome by the president and other top officials.

The men were kidnapped in March and April by an extremist armed group demanding the release of Libyans imprisoned in Tunisia. It is not clear what deal led to their release.

President Moncef Marzouki and Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa greeted embassy employees Mohammed Ben Cheikh and Laroussi Kontassi. The two men said their detention was difficult but they were well treated. They said they did not know who their captors were.

A group calling itself Shebab al-Tawhid published an online video in April demanding the release of some members accused of terrorist crimes in Tunisia. In it, Ben Cheikh pleaded with Tunisian authorities to open negotiations.

Tunisian Foreign Minister Mongi Hamdi said there were no negotiations with the kidnappers but did not rule out that some Libyan prisoners would be sent back to Libya under previous conventions.

Libya has been plagued by a host of heavily armed militias and a spate of kidnappings since the 2011 ouster of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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