Al-Qaeda-linked militants who abducted two Austrians in Tunisia want a five-million-euro (7.8-million-dollar) ransom, Monday's edition of Austria's Kurier newspaper reported.The newspaper cited an "informed source" without giving further details. Wolfgang Ebner, 51, and Andrea Kloiber, 44, were abducted three weeks ago by the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb -- an Algerian-based offshoot of Al-Qaeda -- as they were vacationing in the Tunisian desert.
Earlier Sunday, the kidnappers extended the original deadline for their demands to be met, which had been set at Sunday midnight. They have been calling for the release of prisoners in Algeria and Tunisia.
A source close to the Austrian team managing the crisis in Vienna said that the group was demanding a ransom, a report confirmed by sources in northern Mali where according to some sources, the two men are being held. Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik has said that every effort was being made to free the two men. Officially, Vienna has repeatedly stated that it would not negotiate with the kidnappers, but Plassnik confirmed that a former Austrian ambassador had been sent to Mali.