Officials reported Monday that 20 doctors and nurses in Sirte, Libya were kidnapped by 30 militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS).
The men and women were waiting for a bus to take them to Tripoli in an attempt to flee the violence in the area. Dozens of families have left Sirte this week because of clashes between the militants and fighters backing the government.
The kidnappers were members of the Tafkiri, an extremist Muslim group with loyalties to the Middle Eastern terrorist organisation. A Libyan militiaman who fought the Tafkiri reported the kidnappings to the Associated Press.
The health workers were employed at the Ibn Sina hospital, but attempted to reach the country's capital, where conditions are safer. The employees were reported as being foreigners, although their nationalities have not been confirmed.
Breitbart reported that the hostages were Filipino, Indian, Serbian, and Ukrainian.
The captives were reportedly taken so that they could treat the wounded Tafkiri members. The remaining Ibn Sina hospital workers were evacuated to Misrata, where the Libya Dawn militia's battalion is stationed.
The militia are fighting under Operation Shuruq, commissioned by the General National Congress in Tripoli.
Last week, eight Libyan guards were beheaded and nine foreigners were kidnapped by IS sympathisers who descended upon an oil field in the central part of the country. Although Libya's oil reserves are the largest on the continent, IS affiliates have tried to disrupt oil production in an attempt to control the supply.
Operation Shuruq will be joined by the Brigade 166 militia in the coming days to launch an offensive against the Tafkiri in Sirte and retake the city. The militants gained control of Sirte, which lies between Tripoli and Benghazi, last month.
