Four US military persons detained/released by Libyans

Fox News reports that four US military personnel were detained and then released hours later.

No one was reported injured. A Defense Department official told The Associated Press Friday night that the military personnel were taken to the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli after their release.

The four were supporting U.S. Marine security forces protecting the American Embassy, the official said. They were likely U.S. special operations forces, which have been deployed to Libya.

The New York Times speculates that the four were reconnoitering escape routes;

The four were believed to have been reviewing potential evacuation routes for diplomats when they were detained, according to the initial reports received by officials in Washington. The State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said they were working on “security preparedness efforts” when they were taken into custody. The area where they were said to have been detained is not far from the main road to the Tunisian border from Tripoli, the capital.

After running into a problem at a checkpoint — many of which are run by local militias — they were detained and later moved to the Ministry of the Interior, said administration officials who asked not to be identified because they were discussing internal reports.