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US Couple Abducted in Yemen

   VOA News 24 May 2010

   Armed  tribesmen  in Yemen have kidnapped an American couple traveling
   near the capital, Sanaa.

   The tourists were abducted Monday along with their Yemeni driver.

   The  driver,  in  phone  calls  to  the  media,  says  the captors are
   demanding  the  release  of  a  fellow  tribesman who is being held by
   authorities in Sanaa.

   The  driver says six gunmen stopped them on a road in the Bani Mansour
   area, about 70 kilometers west of the capital. He says they were taken
   to the village of Hamra, and are being treated well. Tribesmen say the
   hostages are "guests" in the village.

   Kidnappings  of  foreigners  are  frequent  in  Yemen  and usually are
   carried  out  by  tribesmen who use hostages to press local demands to
   government authorities.

   However,  some  kidnappings in the past few years have been attributed
   to al-Qaida-linked militants in Yemen.

   Last  week,  Saudi  security forces freed two German children who were
   kidnapped  in  Yemen  last  year.  The  children's parents and toddler
   brother were also kidnapped and remain missing.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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