Al Jazeera journalist held in Cairo released

An Al Jazeera journalist arrested in Cairo was released on Sunday after spending nine hours in custody, the Qatar-based satellite television channel reported.

Ayman Mohyeldin had been arrested by the Egyptian military near Tahrir Square, epicentre of the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak.

Mohyeldin, a US citizen, works for the network's English channel, which reported his release.

A spokesman in Doha for the broadcaster said earlier: "We want him released immediately. Interference in the work of journalists should cease."

The journalist was arrested exactly a week after the Egyptian information ministry ordered Al-Jazeera, which has given saturation coverage to the ongoing protests, to halt its operations and stripped its staff of their credentials.

The channel said nine of its journalists were briefly detained on Friday - dubbed by protesters the "day of departure" for Mubarak - and its broadcast signal faced "unprecedented levels of interference."

The channel reported on Friday that unidentified gunmen had ransacked its Cairo bureau and destroyed equipment there.

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