Islamist rebels in Somalia have set free a newly appointed female cabinet minister after she was seized. A government official on Friday said Asho Osman Aqiil who was named as Minister for Women and Family Affairs on Wednesday in the new cabinet line-up of Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali's government, was kidnapped from her home by heavily armed fighters from Al Shabaab group in the rebel- controlled town of Balad, near the capital Mogadishu. The official said the Al Shabaab commanders let her go because she told them that she was not aware of the appointment and that she did not want to take the post. Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali on Wednesday announced his new 18-member cabinet which mostly comprise of technocrats who have not been known in Somali politics. The Somali parliament is expected to vote on the cabinet in the next few days.