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| Foreigners 'kidnapped' in north Yemen | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nine foreign nationals, mostly women and children, have been kidnapped by Shia rebels in a mountainous area of 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 of seven Germans, including three children, a Briton and a Korean, had been on a picnic on Friday in Saada, Yemen's interior ministry said. | |
| State-run media said the foreigners, among them two nurses, had been working at Jumhuri hospital in the region. | |
| The Huithi Zaidi rebel group denied any part in the kidnapping, AFP reported. | The Huithi Zaidi rebel group denied any part in the kidnapping, AFP reported. |
| A state-run Yemeni news agency cites an official source as saying the group also included two female German nurses, a German engineer and his wife, a British engineer and a Korean teacher. | |
| However, there has been no confirmation of the kidnapping from their native countries. | |
| 'Government conspiracy' | 'Government conspiracy' |
| Seoul would only say a South Korean woman was missing in Yemen. | Seoul would only say a South Korean woman was missing in Yemen. |
| "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. | "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. |
| The German foreign ministry said its embassy in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, was in "close contact" with authorities. | |
| A UK Foreign Office spokesman said it was investigating the reports of a kidnapping. | A UK Foreign Office spokesman said it was investigating the reports of a kidnapping. |
| More than 200 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in Yemen in the last 15 years. Most have been released unharmed. | |
| 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. | 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". | 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. | "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. |
| Rebellion | |
| State media says this latest kidnapping comes just a day after 24 medics were released after being kidnapped by armed tribesmen in the Amran region. | |
| The news agency quotes a source saying the Huthi Zaidis were responsible but AP news agency says they played no part. | |
| Yemen's north-western province of Saada, up against the border with Saudi Arabia, has seen sporadic fighting between government troops and Zaidi rebels. | |
| Zaidis belong to an offshoot of Shia Islam. They are a minority in mainly Sunni Muslim Yemen, but make up the majority in the north-west of the country. | |
| Thousands of people have died since the Zaidis began a rebellion against government troops in Saada in 2004. They are accused of trying to seize power and impose religious law. |