Al-Qaeda's North African wing demanded the Austrian government withdraw its military from Afghanistan and release two Muslim prisoners in exchange for two Austrian tourists kidnapped in Tunisia six weeks ago. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb made the demands in a statement posted on the Internet yesterday, said the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist Web sites.
The al-Qaeda-linked group said it abducted Wolfgang Ebner, 51, and Andrea Kloiber, 44, on Feb. 22 in Tunisia. In previous online messages, it has demanded the release of its members held in Tunisia. The group's last deadline for its conditions to be met expired April 6, according to SITE.
The Austrian government is now ``responsible for the lives and unknown fate'' of the hostages, the militant group said in the statement.
It called on the government in Vienna to withdraw its four military officers from Afghanistan and free two Muslims arrested in Austria in September last year in connection with threatened attacks on Austria and Germany.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb killed more than 100 people in bombings across Algeria last year, including two suicide attacks that targeted United Nations offices and a court building in Algiers in December.
The group, which wants to impose an Islamic state in Algeria, was founded in the mid-1990s. It pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden in 2003.