Armed men kidnap Muslim cleric outside mosque in Libyan capital Tripoli

Tripoli: Armed men kidnapped a Muslim cleric outside a mosque in the Libyan capital Tripoli early on Thursday, according to local media reports.

Nader al-Omrani, who is imam of Tripoli's al-Fawatir mosque, was seized by gunmen aboard two cars, Libyan daily al-Wasat said.

No group claimed responsibility for the abduction which took place in Tripoli's al-Hadbah district.

Omrani's family said his whereabouts were unknown.

Omrani is a member of the country's top religious body, the Libyan Fatwa House's Council of Research and Islamic Sharia Studies, and is acting chairman of the Libyan Scholars' Association.

The Islamic State Sunni militant group or forces loyal to renegade Libyan general Khalifa al-Haftar may be behind Omrani's abduction, the Libya Observer daily cited a Libyan Fatwa House spokesman, Abdullah al-Jaadi, as saying.