Palestinian gunmen free three French captives

NABLUS, West Bank, Jan 23 (Reuters) Palestinian militants seized a French diplomat and his two bodyguards today in the West Bank city of Nablus, and released them two hours later to another French envoy, witnesses and the militants said.

A spokesman for al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of President Mahmoud Abbas's faction, said weapons carried by the bodyguards had initially raised suspicions the men were undercover Israeli soldiers.

The gunmen handed the hostages over to a French diplomat, and a reporter saw them leave a building a short time later.

The French Foreign Ministry earlier confirmed that three French citizens had been kidnapped and that they had been making efforts to win their release.

At least 18 foreigners have been abducted by Palestinians in the past year, mostly in the Gaza Strip. In previous cases they were all later released, mostly within hours or days.

Security has fallen apart in Gaza and the West Bank amid a bitter power struggle between the ruling Hamas militant group and Abbas's Fatah faction.

At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in violence between rival factions in Gaza since Abbas called for new elections last month after talks failed to forge a unity government with Hamas.

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