Fox News chief White House correspondent Ed Henry is reporting Friday night that four American service members are being held by the Libyan government. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki has confirmed the news.
A senior Defense Department official tells CNN’s Barbara Starr four U.S. military personnel are being held in Libyan government custody
— Steve Brusk (@stevebruskNews) December 28, 2013
DoD official says four military service members detained and in Libya custody were in the country "augmenting" security at the embassy.
— Barbara Starr (@barbarastarrcnn) December 28, 2013
DOD official"we are seeking to further ascertain the facts and ensure their release" four US military personnel detained by Libya MOI
— Barbara Starr (@barbarastarrcnn) December 28, 2013
CNN reports that the four were in Libya “augmenting security at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli.”
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Update:
US State Dept says in touch with #Libya government about 4 US military personnel detained there
— Missy Ryan (@missy_ryan) December 28, 2013
No word yet on circumstances under which US personnel detained or their status #Libya
— Missy Ryan (@missy_ryan) December 28, 2013
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Al Jazeera Live is reporting that all four have been released.
Four US military personnel detained in Libya have been released – Reuters.
— Al Jazeera News (@AJENews) December 28, 2013
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Update:
State dept says Libya has released all 4 U.S military personnel they were operating in an area near Sabratha when taken into custody
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) December 28, 2013
State dept says the 4 Americans were operating on security preparedness efforts when taken into custody no further explanation of incident
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) December 28, 2013
Twitchy will update this post as details emerge.