Libya releases American, Cameroon basketball player detained in eastern city

TRIPOLI, Libya – Libya says an American and a Cameroon national have been released from detention after they were arrested by military troops in the eastern city of Benghazi earlier this week.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry says the two were released on Friday. They were reported detained late Thursday at the Benghazi University campus.

The statement added that the two are basketball players and members of the city's al-Helal team. Earlier, a Libyan security official said both were Americans and it was not clear what had caused the misidentification.

It also remained unclear why the two were detained in the first place. U.S. officials did not comment on the incident.

Last month, four U.S. military personnel were briefly taken into custody at a checkpoint in northwestern Libya and later released.