Four foreign engineers kidnapped in Libya

Four foreign engineers working for the Turkish construction firm Enka were kidnapped in southwest Libya on Friday, a Libyan state electricity official said.

The men, who were Turkish and South African, were seized while travelling from the airport in the town of Ubari to a power plant they were helping to build, the official said, asking not to be identified. There was no immediate indication who had abducted them.

In a statement on its website, Enka referred to three Turkish citizens being kidnapped.

"Around midday today in Libya three of our citizens, two of them our personnel who were temporarily working in the country, were kidnapped by unidentified people while they were travelling outside the building site," the statement said.

"Our company is following the subject closely, in contact with Turkish and Libyan authorities."

Kidnapping is rife across Libya, which has been in turmoil since an uprising followed by a civil war unseated longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Work at the Ubari plant has been going on for years, disrupted periodically by tribal clashes or other security problems.

Militant groups have often targeted foreign workers and diplomatic missions, taking advantage of the lawlessness that has swept Libya since 2011.

In June, gunmen briefly abducted seven members of the UN mission after an attack on their convoy.

Despite losing their Sirte stronghold in December last year, the Islamic State (IS) group remains active in Libya where it has since claimed several attacks.