Four Italian journalists who were kidnapped in Libya are being held by loyalists to Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Four Italian journalists who were kidnapped in Libya on Wednesday morning are unharmed and are being held by loyalists to Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli, an Italian foreign ministry source said.

The journalists were stopped forcibly while driving near Zawiya, 30 miles west of Tripoli, "by unknown forces" who then killed their driver, robbed them, and handed them over to the loyalists. They were later taken to the capital, Tripoli.

The journalists were named as Elisabetta Rosaspina and Giuseppe Sarcina of Corriere della Sera; Domenico Quirico of La Stampa; and Claudio Monici of Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference.

After reaching the hostages by phone, Italy's consul in Beghazi, Guido De Sanctis, said they were unharmed, had been given food and water, and were being held at an apartment somewhere between Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound and the Rixos hotel.

De Sanctis added that a "well-known shopping centre that belongs to Gaddafi's daughter" was visible from the apartment.