An Egyptian diplomat has been abducted in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, Egyptian state media reported Saturday, citing a Foreign Ministry official.
"The administrative attache at the Egyptian embassy in Libya was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen from his house in Tripoli," ministry spokesman Badr Abdel-Atti said, dpa reported.
"The Egyptian embassy (in Tripoli) is working with Libyan authorities to secure his release," Abdel-Atti told state-run newspaper al-Ahram.
The diplomat's abduction, which occurred on Friday, is believed to be in response to Egyptian authorities' arrest of a leading Libyan militiaman in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, Libya's independent Solidarity Press Agency said.
Libya's post-revolutionary rulers have been struggling to assert their authority amid a proliferation of weapons and militias since the ouster and killing of dictator Moamer Gaddafi in October 2011.
Earlier this week, a South Korean diplomat was freed in Tripoli days after he had been abducted by suspected militiamen.
Former rebels, who took part in the revolt against Gaddafi, have resisted Libyan authorities' efforts to disarm them.