CAIRO (Reuters) - Three Korean women being held in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula by Bedouin tribesmen were released on Saturday together with their Egyptian translator following negotiations with the authorities, the governor of South Sinai province said.
The Bedouin had snatched the three Koreans from a tour bus travelling near the St Catherine monastery in central Sinai towards Sharm el-Sheikh and had sought to use them to bargain for the release of jailed members of their tribe.
"The three Koreans and the Egyptian were released," Khaled Fouda, the South Sinai governor, told Reuters. Their abduction was reported on Friday. Fouda did not say if the tribesmen's demands had been met.
Bedouin tribesmen in the Sinai have attacked police stations and blocked access to towns to show their discontent with what they see as poor treatment from Cairo, and to press for the release of jailed kinsmen.
Earlier this month, two American women were held until Egyptian authorities negotiated their release a few hours later.
Two dozen Chinese cement factory workers were also kidnapped this month and released a day later in an incident Chinese officials said would not impact on their work in Sinai.
(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed; Writing by Tamim Elyan; Editing by Tom Perry)
