Palestinian gunmen released an American and British journalist they had kidnapped

Palestinian gunmen released an American and British journalist they had kidnapped earlier yesterday as the pair drove through the central Gaza town of Khan Younis, according to one of the abducted journalists.

The two men, Dion Nissenbaum, an American reporter for the Knight Ridder newspaper chain, and British photographer Adam Pletts, who was working on contract for Knight Ridder, were freed yesterday night after several hours in captivity, Nissenbaum said as they drove toward Gaza City.

Palestinian security officials said the men had been kidnapped by a renegade group of members of the ruling Fatah party. Fatah officials and Palestinian security officers negotiated their release, security officials said.

Militant groups have kidnapped foreigners in increasingly chaotic Gaza recently, usually as bargaining chips to get relatives released from Palestinian prisons or to secure jobs from the Palestinian Authority.

Before the men were released, Knight Ridder said it was working to get them free and U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the United States was working with senior officials from the Palestinian Authority to bring about their release. P.T.