Two American tourists who were kidnapped in the southern part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula were freed Friday, Feb 3 a security official said.

“They had been abducted by unknown Bedouins,” said Gen. Mohamed Naguib, head of security in the region.

The kidnappers had demanded that some detainees be released and retried, but it is unclear if these calls were met.

Earlier Friday, the country's tourism minister said on Al Hayat Egyptian TV that authorities had located the kidnappers and were negotiating with them.

The abductions came several days after kidnappers held a larger group for a day.

Kidnappings and daylight armed robberies have become increasingly common in the turbulent year since Egypt's long-ruling dictator Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, CNN reported.