Yemen: 3 Filipino sailors kidnapped
Mar 21, 2012, 8:50 PM
Associated Press
SANAA, Yemen (AP) – A Yemeni Interior Ministry official says tribesmen have kidnapped three Filipino sailors to press for release of a prisoner.
The official says the three were abducted on Wednesday while heading from Marib, east of Sanaa, to a port in al-Mahrah province. The official identified kidnappers as Bani Gabr tribesmen who demand release of a prisoner from the tribe.
Also, a senior Yemeni intelligence officer was kidnapped in the southern Hadramawt province. Officials say al-Qaida-linked militants are believed to be behind the abduction.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.
Al-Qaida militants have seized several towns in southern Yemen during a year of political turmoil and a resulting security vacuum.
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