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Spaniards kidnapped in Mauritania Spain fears kidnap was al-Qaeda
(about 14 hours later)
Three Spanish citizens have been kidnapped in the West African country of Mauritania, according to reports. Spain says al-Qaeda's North African cell is likely to be responsible for the apparent kidnapping of three aid workers in Mauritania.
They were travelling in a convoy on the road linking the capital Nouakchott to the city of Nouadhibou, media reported. Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said "everything suggests" al-Qaeda in the Maghreb was involved.
Two men and woman were taken by armed men, with one report saying a fourth person managed to escape. Mauritanian police said the workers, from Barcelona Accion Solidaria, were attacked on a road linking the capital Nouakchott to the city of Nouadhibou.
They had reportedly been delivering aid to Nouadhibou and were also dropping off donations along the route. Authorities were searching for them. Two men and a woman were snatched by armed men.
The three aid workers were in a four-wheel drive vehicle at the back of a convoy when they were attacked.
Julia Tabernejo, from Barcelona Accion Solidaria, told the Associated Press: "I think the others heard shooting, and when they stopped, the car was empty. Those three were no longer in it."
They had reportedly been delivering aid to Nouadhibou and were also dropping off donations along the route.
Teacher killed
The kidnapping happened near the town of Chelkhett Legtouta.The kidnapping happened near the town of Chelkhett Legtouta.
Spanish news agency EFE reported that trio worked for a non-government organisation called Barcelona-Accio. "Though we can say absolutely nothing for sure at the moment, everything would seem to indicate that it was a kidnapping," said Mr Rubalcaba.
Other reports described them as tourists. "If that's the case, as I fear it is, everything suggests that it is an AQIM [al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb] kidnapping."
In August a suicide bomber has set off an explosion outside the French embassy in Nouakchott, injuring two guards. Analysts say Mauritania has generally been a peaceful country - but several attacks linked to the al-Qaeda cell have rocked the status quo.
Mauritanian authorities have in the past blamed Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb for attacks. An American teacher was killed in June, with al-Qaeda later claiming it had killed him for spreading Christianity.
These included an attack by gunmen on the Israeli embassy in Nouakchott in February last year, and the killing of four French tourists in December 2007. In August a suicide bomber set off an explosion outside the French embassy in Nouakchott, injuring two guards.
And four French tourists were killed in December 2007.