2 Americans kidnapped in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

(CBS/AP) EL-ARISH, Egypt — The U.S. Embassy in Cairo tells CBS News two American tourists were kidnapped Wednesday while traveling in the Sinai Peninsula.

Egyptian security officials say armed Bedouins snatched the two while they were traveling by car from Dahab to the resort of Nuweiba. Both resorts are on the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba.

CBS News has not been able to confirm the identities of the abducted men.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

The abduction was the latest in a series of kidnappings in Sinai, which has seen a surge in lawlessness over the last year, since the fall of the autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak in the popular Arab Spring uprising.

Bedouins have been kidnapping tourists to pressure authorities to release detained relatives or to improve basic services in their areas.