SANA'A – A Finnish couple and an Austrian man abducted in Yemen last month are being held by members of Al-Qaeda after being sold to the militant group by tribesmen, a senior Yemeni official said Tuesday. The three Westerners, who were studying Arabic in Yemen, were snatched by gunmen in the capital Sana'a on Dec. 21. An Interior Ministry official had said they were being held by tribesmen who were demanding a ransom. “The tribesmen have sold the three abductees to elements from Al-Qaeda organization and they were transferred to Bayda province (in the south),” the official said. “There are negotiations to pay a ransom and free them.” Yemen's President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi was quoted as saying Monday that the three Westerners were kidnapped by “terrorist groups”, state news agency Saba reported. Hadi's comments were made during a meeting with the Finnish and Austrian ambassadors, Saba said. The kidnapping of Westerners occurs sporadically in Yemen, mostly by tribesmen seeking bargaining clout in disputes with the authorities or by Al-Qaeda militants and their sympathizers. – Reuters
