Three Abducted Members of Egypt Trade Union Freed

Three members of a trade union abducted last week in Egypt's restive Sinai were freed Wednesday after a ransom was paid for their release, security officials said, with a fourth man still held.

The four men, an official from the labor ministry and the three union members, were snatched while traveling to a conference in the southern resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh.

The union members were released after their families and the trade union paid a ransom of 150,000 Egyptian pounds ($21,000 and 17,000 euros) for each of them, the officials said.

Negotiations to secure the release of the ministry official were ongoing, the security sources said, adding that he had been kidnapped for a ransom.

Labor ministry spokesman Alaa el-Din Mohamed confirmed to AFP the release of the three men, saying "intensive efforts" were on to free the fourth captive.

Bedouin tribesman have regularly staged kidnappings in Sinai either for ransom or to force the release of their jailed relatives.

The security situation in Sinai has deteriorated since the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July, with militants launching near daily attacks on troops and police.

Scores of Egyptian soldiers and policemen have been killed in the militant attacks in the Sinai.