TRIPOLI (REUTERS) - The son of a suspected Islamist militant seized in Tripoli said on Sunday his father had been snatched as he returned home from morning prayers by men with Libyan accents.

The Pentagon said Nazih al-Ragye, better known as Abu Anas al-Liby, was detained by US forces. He had been wanted for his part in the bombings of US embassies in Africa 15 years ago. His son, Mr Abdullah al Ragye, 20, told reporters at the family home his father had been arriving home from prayers when men pulled up in four cars, knocked him out with some kind of drug and dragged him from his vehicle.

"They had a Libyan look and Libyan accents. They took him out of his car after breaking the window. They put him in a Mercedes and left," he said. He said he learned the details from his mother, who could not speak to the media.

His son said Liby returned to Libya in October last year. Liby, a Libyan believed to be 49, has been under US indictment for his alleged role in the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, which killed 224 people. The US government has also been offering a US$5 million (S$6.2 million) reward for information leading to his capture.

Liby's son denied his father had taken part in those attacks and said the family had hired a lawyer to try to resolve the legal charges he faced.

"If they have any evidence, they should show it," he said."I agree my father can go on trial, but it should be here in Libya."