TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - A senior Libyan official says he has no knowledge about the fate of an American journalist missing for more than nine weeks.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim told reporters Wednesday that he had no information about Matthew VanDyke, a freelance journalist from Baltimore.

The 31-year-old VanDyke last spoke with his family March 12 before saying he was heading to the eastern oil town of Brega.

Last week, the Libyan government released four reporters held since April. The journalists said a photojournalist, Anton Hammerl, was shot and left to die when they were detained.

Libyan officials had maintained they knew nothing about Hammerl, who had South African and Austrian citizenship.
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