Yahoo News |
CBS News |
BBC News |
14.03.2008 01:59 - category: World News : BBC News
- Source: BBC NewsAl-Qaeda in North Africa has issued a deadline for the release of two Austrian tourists it claims it abducted in Tunisia last month.
In an internet statement, the militant group gave Austria three days to secure the freedom of members held in Algeria and Tunisia in exchange for the two. The group posted images of the pair, whom it says it seized on 22 February, surrounded by militants in a desert. Austrian media named the two as Andrea Kloiber, 43, and Wolfgang Ebner, 51. The statement said: "Austria is responsible for the lives of the two hostages in the event of the expiration of the time period and not responding to our demands." Face obscured The woman in the photographs, said to be Ms Kloiber, was shown wearing a blue headscarf and her face was digitally obscured. Analysts say this may be because showing a woman's face is prohibited under radical Islamist beliefs. Relatives reported them missing when they did not return from a holiday to Tunisia on 1 March. The Austrian government said on Tuesday it was doing all it could to find the pair. Tunisia, a popular destination for European holidaymakers, has seen attacks on tourists by al-Qaeda in the past. In 2002, a truck bomb outside a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba killed 21 people, including 14 German tourists.www.free-voipservice.net
Add comment