Al Qaeda holding Europeans taken in Mali - military
BAMAKO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - A North African branch of al Qaeda was most likely holding four European tourists kidnapped in northeastern Mali last week, a senior Malian military source said on Thursday.
Malian officials initially blamed Tuareg rebels for abducting the two Swiss nationals, one German and one Briton near Mali's border with Niger last Thursday.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), was most likely to be holding the Europeans, the source told Reuters.
"We are convinced they are Salafists," he said. "The taking of hostages is their method -- the German hostages in 2003, the two Austrian hostages -- it's them."
Last week's kidnapping was the worst such incident in the West African desert state since Islamist rebels abducted 32 Europeans in 2003. In October last year, two Austrian tourists were released in Mali after being held in the Sahara for months, also by Islamist militants.
Al Qaeda hires other armed groups in the vast area to carry out kidnappings, the source said.
"Salafists are offering enormous sums of money to any terrorist group who brings them white Westerners, but with the twin conditions that they are not American nationals and they are not captured on Malian territory."
Al Qaeda was wary of provoking an armed response from the United States and did not want to anger Malian authorities, he said.
The four Europeans were returning from a Tuareg cultural festival when armed men took them from their vehicles near the Malian town of Menaka and drove them into Niger.
In December, a Canadian U.N. diplomat, Robert Fowler, and his Canadian aide went missing in Niger. A Tuareg dissident rebel group first claimed, then denied, their abduction.
Officials in Niger said earlier this month that "armed Islamist groups" might be holding them. (Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Daniel Magnowski; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Malian officials initially blamed Tuareg rebels for abducting the two Swiss nationals, one German and one Briton near Mali's border with Niger last Thursday.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), was most likely to be holding the Europeans, the source told Reuters.
"We are convinced they are Salafists," he said. "The taking of hostages is their method -- the German hostages in 2003, the two Austrian hostages -- it's them."
Last week's kidnapping was the worst such incident in the West African desert state since Islamist rebels abducted 32 Europeans in 2003. In October last year, two Austrian tourists were released in Mali after being held in the Sahara for months, also by Islamist militants.
Al Qaeda hires other armed groups in the vast area to carry out kidnappings, the source said.
"Salafists are offering enormous sums of money to any terrorist group who brings them white Westerners, but with the twin conditions that they are not American nationals and they are not captured on Malian territory."
Al Qaeda was wary of provoking an armed response from the United States and did not want to anger Malian authorities, he said.
The four Europeans were returning from a Tuareg cultural festival when armed men took them from their vehicles near the Malian town of Menaka and drove them into Niger.
In December, a Canadian U.N. diplomat, Robert Fowler, and his Canadian aide went missing in Niger. A Tuareg dissident rebel group first claimed, then denied, their abduction.
Officials in Niger said earlier this month that "armed Islamist groups" might be holding them. (Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Daniel Magnowski; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
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