The Americans Captured in Egypt Have Been Released

There's a happy (or at least safe) ending to the story this morning of two American women along with their guide being kidnapped at gunpoint in Egypt.

There's a happy (or at least safe) ending to the story this morning of two American women along with their guide being kidnapped at gunpoint in Egypt. With AFP first reporting (and CNN and NBC), the two tourists and their guide have been released this morning after being held for about four hours by Bedouins.

The Americans had been sightseeing monestary in Sinai when they were captured. From NBC's report, it appeared the Egypt's military government moved quick to negotiate the release. That doesn't make the details of the kidnapping any less scary: "masked gunmen" apparently targeting the two as they let three others traveling with them go. CNN explains how such events are bad publicity for Egypt's tourism industry, which is still recovering from the Arab Spring. "Kidnappings and daylight armed robberies have become increasingly common in the turbulent year since Egypt's long-ruling dictator Hosni Mubarak was overthrown," it writes.