Many Libyans blame political rivalries for the problems plaguing a country awash with militias and weaponry left over from the 2011 rebellion.
US State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki, travelling with Secretary of State John Kerry in Brunei, said Thursday Washington was seeking more information on Zeidan’s abduction.
“We are looking into these reports and we are in close touch with senior US and Libyan officials on the ground,” she told reporters.
“We are working to determine more details. Our embassy staff is safe in Tripoli. We have no further details at this time.”
Also in Brunei, UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon condemned the abduction of Zeidan and said he hoped that reports of his release were true.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague as well as NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen had both earlier issued calls for Zeidan to be freed immediately.
Zeidan, who was named prime minister a year ago, had on Tuesday condemned the US capture of Libi in Tripoli and insisted that all Libyans should be tried on home soil.
The General National Congress, Libya’s highest political authority, has demanded that Washington “immediately” hand back Libi, claiming his capture was a flagrant violation of Libyan sovereignty.
Libi real name Nazih Abdul Hamed al Raghie was on the FBI’s most wanted list with a $5 million (3.7 million euro) bounty on his head for his alleged role in the 1998 twin bombings of two US embassies in East Africa.
He is reportedly being held aboard a US Navy ship in the Mediterranean.
US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday Libi was involved in plots that killed hundreds of people and would be brought to justice.
Public anger in Libya is growing as widespread violence, including political assassinations, proliferates particularly in the east of the country.
A number of foreign missions have come under attack in Tripoli and in the eastern city of Benghazi.
On September 11, 2012, four Americans, including the ambassador, were killed when militants swarmed into the US consulate in Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 revolution.
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