US tourists freed unharmed in Sinai

Two US tourists were relased unharmed by Bedouin kidnappers in the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, security sources said, a day after they had been abducted by tribesmen seeking the release of one of their kinsmen held by the Egyptian authorities. \"The tourists are with Egyptian security now,\" a security source told Reuters. \"They were released after successful negotiations with the army,with the mediation of Bedouin sheikhs.\" Jonathan Shizarlasky and Carter Brabon were kidnapped in the Red Sea city of Nuweiba. Two American women were held in a short-lived kidnapping in February until Egyptian authorities negotiated their release a few hours later. Six Egyptian soldiers were kidnapped by armed Bedouins in the Sinai peninsula in early May. Such incidents have become more frequent since the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last year loosened the grip of state security and deepened lawlessness in the isolated Sinai.