Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has reportedly been freed just hours after he was kidnapped by gunmen from a hotel in the capital, Tripoli.

Libya’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdelaziz on Thursday announced the freedom of Zeidan.

However, the foreign minister stated, “We have no details so far on the circumstances of his release.”

The report came hours after Libyan government sources said that a group of former rebels had abducted the prime minister and took him to an unknown location.

The Libyan government denounced the seizure of the premier as a “criminal act.”

A former rebel group known as the Operations Cell of Revolutionaries claimed responsibility for the abduction.

The group said on its Facebook page that it had “arrested” Zeidan on orders from prosecutors, but the public prosecutor’s office said it had issued no warrant for an arrest.

The kidnapping came five days after US forces kidnapped alleged al-Qaeda operative Abu Anas al-Libi on the streets of Tripoli.

The Libyan government regards the US raid in Tripoli as a case of abduction. It has summoned the US ambassador over the move.

On October 8, Zeidan had told reporters in Tripoli, “Our relationship with the USA is important, and we care about that, but we care too about our citizens, which is our duty.”