*UPDATES WITH OIL CORPORATION'S STATEMENT
By Waleed Abdullah
TRIPOLI (AA) – Four oil engineers were abducted from an oilfield in southern Libya on Saturday, according to the country’s oil corporation.
In a statement, the National Oil Corporation said the four engineers were kidnapped by gunmen from al-Sharara oilfield, but without specifying the nationality of the hostages.
Two engineers, however, were later released, the corporation said.
The corporation said oilfields in neighboring areas have been shut as a “precautionary measure”.
A local security official earlier told Anadolu Agency that the three Libyans and a Romanian national had been abducted and taken to an undisclosed destination.
No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction.
The source said security forces have launched a manhunt for the kidnappers.
On Friday, two Libyan engineers were abducted from the same oilfield before they were later released.
Libya has been dogged by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the death of strongman Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.
Since then, Libya’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power — one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli — and a host of heavily-armed militia groups.
