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| Arabia |
| Yemen Qaida Releases S. Africa Woman Captive |
| 2014-01-11 |
| [An Nahar] Kidnappers from al-Qaeda in Yemen released Friday a South African woman tourist who was taken hostage in May along with her husband, who temporarily remains captive, a mediator said. "We have succeeded in securing the release of the wife. The husband will be set free in the next few days," said Anas al-Hamati, adding that the "kidnappers were from al-Qaeda." He did not say whether a ransom has been paid for the couple. He did not give their identities, but South African media have named them as Yolande and Pierre Korkie. Hamati told Agence La Belle France Presse by telephone that he was with the woman and approaching Sanaa. They were traveling from the southern region of Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirateafter seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... where the woman was released -- more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the central city of Taiz where the couple was kidnapped. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, considered by Washington as the most dangerous branch of the jihadist network, remains active in parts of Abyan despite several military campaigns. Security officials said in May the couple was seized outside their hotel by gunnies loyal to a local chief over a land dispute with the authorities. The kidnappers came from the area of Janadiyah, some 35 kilometers (about 20 miles) east of Taiz, said one official. They worked for a local chief who has had a long-running dispute with the authorities over a plot of land, he said, adding the tourists could be used for bargaining. But there have been cases of kidnappers handing over their captives to al-Qaeda bad boys, possibly for money. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 "The waters are to die for" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2014-01-11 19:53 |
| #2 Who the hell goes to Yemen as a tourist? Internet, men, women, cheap airline flights? Does this rang a bell? |
| Posted by: badanov 2014-01-11 18:28 |
| #1 Who the hell goes to Yemen as a tourist? |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2014-01-11 18:25 |