Four Egyptian Embassy staff have been kidnapped in the Libyan capital Tripoli, including a cultural attache, the Libyan Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, after an Egyptian administrative attache was abducted on Friday by unknown gunmen.

Libyan Ambassador in Cairo Mohamed Faiz Gabriel said Saturday that the kidnapping of Egyptian diplomats in Tripoli seems to be in retaliation for the arrest of the head of Libyan Revolutionary Chamber, Abu Obedia El-Zawy, in Alexandria Friday. 

El-Zawy's militant group started to kidnap Egyptian diplomats hours after El-Zawy's arrest, beginning with the administrative attache in Tripoli.

According to news sources, El-Zawy's group was responsible for the kidnapping of Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan last October. 

Ambassador Badr Abdel Ati, spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed to Ahram Online that four Egyptian diplomats, including the cultural attache in Tripoli, in addition to the adminstrative attache, were kidnapped Friday night. 

Ambassador Abdel Ati added that Egyptian authorities were working with Libyan authorities on releasing them.

Meanwhile, Abdel Ati added that the Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs decided to withdraw some of the members of the Egyptian embassy in Tripoli for security reasons.

The Libyan General National Congress (GNC), which is writing a constitution for Libya, has demanded Egyptian authorities release Abu Obedia immediately.