TRIPOLI: Masked gunmen kidnapped Jordan’s ambassador to Libya as he rode to work in Tripoli on Tuesday, shooting at his car and wounding his driver, officials said.

It was the latest targeting of Libyan leaders and foreign diplomats in the increasingly lawless North African country, three years after Nato-backed rebels ousted autocratic leader Moammar Qadhafi.

“The Jordanian ambassador was kidnapped this morning. His convoy was attacked by a group of hooded men on board two civilian cars,” Libyan foreign ministry spokesman Said Lassoued said.

Security and medical officials in Tripoli said the ambassador’s driver — reportedly a Moroccan — suffered two gunshot wounds but that his life was no longer in danger after surgery.

In Jordan, Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur urged the Libyan authorities to work to secure the safe release of the kingdom’s ambassador, Fawaz Aitan.

“According to the information we have, unknown masked civilians kid­­napped Aitan this morning as he headed to work,” he told an emerge­ncy meeting of Jordan’s parliament.

“The kidnappers are responsible for the safety of Aitan and the government will do what it takes to free him,” said Nsur.

“We call on the Libyan government and Libyan people to work on preserving his life and freeing him.” Aitan’s family in Amman said they learned about his abduction by chance.

“My mother learned about the abduction of my uncle through one of the satellite channels before calling the authorities,” Aitan’s nephew Osaid said.

“We don’t know why he was kidnapped or if he received threats before the abduction. The situation in Libya is unstable and we are not aware of the kidnappers’ demands.” Diplomats in Tripoli say militias that fought to topple the Kadhafi regime often carry out kidnappings to blackmail other countries into releasing Libyans held in prisons abroad.

DANGEROUS TURN: Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said Amman had yet to receive any demands from the kidnappers.

“We realise that the security situation in Libya is very difficult. Until now we did not receive any additional information from the kidnappers,” he said, quoted by the state-run Petra news agency.