Three young Americans are among those who have been detained by authorities in Cairo during the last few days of protests there, according to reports from The Washington Post, CNN and other news outlets.
State TV has shown video of the young men, who CNN says are accused of throwing Molotov cocktails during the protests in Tahrir Square. They're reported to be students at the American University in Cairo, and some others who go to school there are tweeting about what may be the young men's identities.
According to the Post, "American University President Lisa Anderson [said] the university is working closely with the U.S. embassy to get the young men released."
Update at 11:45 a.m. ET. Americans identified:
The Associated Press writes that "their families and universities say the American students who were arrested are 21-year-old Luke Gates, an Indiana University student from Bloomington, Ind.; Gregory Porter from Drexel University; and Derrik Sweeney, a Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Mo."
The wire service adds that "an Egyptian Interior Ministry official says the three were arrested on the roof of an American University of Cairo building, where they were throwing firebombs at security forces fighting protesters in Tahrir Square."
Presumably, the three are exchange students studying in Cairo.
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