Palestinian gunmen freed three foreigners early on Saturday after a brief abduction of them in the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian security officials said.

The three men, who were church volunteers from the United States, Britain and Ireland, were released unharmed after Palestinian police surrounded the place where they were being heldin the Balata refugee camp, the officials said.

Five gunmen seized the foreigners as they were returning to thehome where they were staying around midnight. Their identities were not made known.

Source: Xinhua