Libyan rebels release UK troops, after being captured "looking for a good hotel" carrying weapons, explosives, multiple passports, and maps.

Fighters in Benghazi free British "diplomatic team" including seven special forces members.

Large parts of Libya have fallen under the control of anti-government forces [Reuters]

Libyan anti-government fighters have released eight captured British citizens, believed to be a UK diplomat and a special forces team.

The suspected special forces troops were released on Sunday and sailed out of Tripoli aboard a British naval vessel, Hoda Abdel-Hamid, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Benghazi, reported.

A statement from William Hague, the UK foreign minster, later confirmed that the "diplomatic team" had left Libya.

"The team went to Libya to initiate contacts with the opposition," Hague's statement said.

"They experienced difficulties, which have now been satisfactorily resolved."

The British government says the men were part of a diplomatic mission trying to make contact with Libyan opposition leaders, but sources in Benghazi say that only one of the men had a diplomatic passport.

The others are thought to be members of the UK's Special Air Service (SAS).

The men were reportedly dropped into Libya by helicopter on Friday near the town of Salouk, where they were captured and brought to Benghazi.

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