Libya's Olympic Honcho Kidnapped

Gunmen abducted the president of the Libyan Olympic Committee in the nation's capital yesterday, grabbing him from his car and bundling him into a waiting vehicle, his brother said today. He said there has been no contact with Ahmed Nabil al-Taher al-Alam or the captors since. Security officials said they are investigating al-Alam's disappearance but they did not provide any further details.

The abduction comes amid a wave of score settling between rivals of Libya's eight-month civil war. Al-Alam, who served as the head of the Libyan Football Association under Gadhafi, is known to have been friends with Gadhafi's son, Mohammed, who was al-Alam's predecessor as the Libyan Olympic Committee president. The brother said he learned of the abduction from al-Alam's friend, who was with the LOC chief when the kidnapping took place. The gunmen stopped al-Alam's car, shoved him into another car, and sped off, leaving the friend unharmed on the street. (More Ahmed Nabil al-Taher al-Alam stories.)