Gunmen abduct and release three church workers

(31 Jul 2004) Overnight shots 30-31 July 2004 1. Palestinian officials' vehicles arriving at Nablus mayor's house 2. People gathered outside the building 3. Various of people inside building, including translators, Palestinian officials and 3 released hostages 4. Closeup of two released hostages trying to obscure their faces 4. Released hostages leaving mayor's house STORYLINE: Palestinian gunmen abducted three foreign church volunteers in the West Bank city of Nablus on Saturday but they were released unharmed under pressure from Palestinian authorities and other militant groups. The foreigners - an American, a Briton and an Irishman - were freed about three hours after they were separated from female colleagues and taken away at gunpoint. Their identities were not released. The incident was one of the worst internal unrest in the Palestinian territories since Arafat and his prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, resolved a leadership crisis last Tuesday by agreeing to share control of the Palestinian security forces. A similar spate of kidnappings and attacks on the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip earlier this month triggered the crisis, one of the toughest Arafat has faced in the last decade. Four French volunteers were among those briefly kidnapped in Gaza. No reason was given for that abduction. Officials said the kidnappers belonged to a renegade group of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which is linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...