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| Africa North |
| An Italian tourist kidnapped by Smugglers in Southern Algeria |
| 2011-02-05 |
| [Ennahar] An Italian tourist was kidnapped last Thursday evening in a first operation on the Algerian territory since 2003. According to local sources, the tourist, an Italian woman named Mariani Maria Sandra, aged 56, has been a kidnapping Thursday evening in the region of Alidena, near Niger and at the Algerian-Libyan border, 250 Km of Djanet in the province of Illizi. The victim was with her driver and her tourist guide "T. M.", aged 39, aboard a Toyota vehicle, in a tourist trip in the Sahara regions. The guide was released by the kidnappers. The kidnapping of the Italian tourist took place very quickly and she was taken towards the borders of Niger by her kidnappers who were armed with two all terrain vehicles. These latter allowed her to use a mobile phone "Thuraya" to inform the head of the tourism agency in Djanet. This has in turn informed the security services. Until late yesterday evening, no party has claimed the kidnapping. Alerted by the driver, the security services have begun research in the region. The operation seems to be the work of smugglers who are working with the terrorist organization of Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat ... now known as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb... and precisely katibet Essahra (phalanx of the Sahara) led by Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, which is still holding eight hostages from Areva Group in Niger, kidnapped in September last year. According to sources of Ennahar, this kidnapping is the work of a group of smugglers, with the complicity of the tourist guide who has alerted the security services 24 hours later. Moreover, thanks to information provided by the guide it turned out to be smugglers. The tourist was allowed to use a mobile phone "Thuraya" to inform the director of the tourism agency. |
| Posted by:Fred |