A U.S. couple along with one Yemeni driver were kidnapped by gunmen near Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, on Monday.

A security official in Sanaa told Xinhua that two Westerners, considered as a husband and a wife from the United States, along with their Yemeni driver were kidnapped by tribal gunmen in Bani Mansour area when they were on their way from Sanaa to the western province Hudaydah.

The official said tribal gunmen from Bani Mansour area kidnapped the group to press the Yemeni government to release one of their relatives.

The three detainees have been transferred to unknown region, he added.