WASHINGTON (AP) The White House says it is pleased that Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan is again a free man after his abduction at gunpoint earlier Thursday.
Spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. condemns the kidnapping, which was carried out at dawn from the hotel where Zidan lives in the capital of Tripoli. The abduction appeared to be retaliation for a weekend raid by U.S. special forces that seized a Libyan al-Qaida suspect in Tripoli.
Carney said the U.S. supports Libya's efforts to fulfill the aspirations of the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime authoritarian leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Carney adds Libyans deserve a democracy based on the rule of law and respect for human rights. He says the U.S. will work closely with the Libyan government as it continues down that path.