British tourists seized then released in Sinai

Two British tourists kidnapped in Egypt were later freed, according to a local official.

The two had reportedly been driving from Cairo to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh when they were kidnapped in southern Sinai.

An Egyptian military intelligence official said the Britons were safe and in a security building in Ras Sidr in southern Sinai.

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The official said the couple, who were believed to have been kidnapped at gunpoint, were freed after police promised Bedouin tribesmen they would release a detained relative who had been arrested and accused of smuggling weapons from Libya to Egypt.

The Britons were almost certainly on an independent holiday trip.

The Foreign Office advises against all travel to northern Sinai and advises against all but essential travel in southern Sinai except for the tourist areas around Sharm el Sheikh.

It is thought the two Britons are a middle-aged married couple.

Tourists have been targeted in the past by Bedouin in Sinai wanting to pressure police to free detained relatives.

Tourists are typically not held for long before being released unharmed.

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