This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/8099202.stm

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Foreigners 'kidnapped in north Yemen' Foreigners 'kidnapped in north Yemen'
(about 2 hours later)
A group of nine foreign nationals, mostly women and children, have been kidnapped by Shia rebels in northern Yemen, officials have said. Nine foreign nationals, mostly women and children, have been kidnapped by Shia rebels in a mountainous area of northern Yemen, officials have said.
The group - made up of seven Germans, a Briton and a Korean - had been on a picnic on Friday in the northern Sa'dah region, Yemen's interior ministry said. The group - made up of seven Germans, a Briton and a Korean - had been on a picnic on Friday in the Sa'dah region, Yemen's interior ministry said.
AFP news agency said the captives had been part of an international group working in a hospital in the region.AFP news agency said the captives had been part of an international group working in a hospital in the region.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. The Huithi Zaidi rebel group denied any part in the kidnapping, AFP reported.
'Investigating reports' Officials are saying the group included three German children, two female nurses, and a female Korean teacher, but there has been no confirmation of the kidnapping from their native countries.
The group included three German children and two female nurses, and a female Korean teacher, officials said. 'Government conspiracy'
The kidnappers were members of the Huthi Zaidi rebel group which has been fighting the government for the last five years, AFP reported. Seoul would only say a South Korean woman was missing in Yemen.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are investigating these reports." "We have yet to confirm whether she has been kidnapped or not. We are requesting the Yemeni government to help locate her group there," an official told AFP.
More than 200 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in Yemen in the last 15 years, though the majority have been released unharmed. The German foreign ministry said its embassy in Sana, the Yemeni capital, was in "close contact" with authorities.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman said it was investigating the reports of a kidnapping.
AFP reported a Yemeni official saying the kidnappers were members of the Huthi Zaidi rebel group which has been fighting the government for the last five years.
But a spokesman for the group dismissed the accusation as "baseless".
"It is a government conspiracy to tarnish the Huthis' reputation. It has never happened that a member of the Huthi followers committed such a shameful act," he said.
More than 200 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in Yemen in the last 15 years. Most have been released unharmed.