20091221
africanews

Two Italians have been kidnapped in Mauritania, a security official. The Mauritanian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Italians - a man and his wife - were taken by gunmen from their 4-wheel drive vehicle.
mauritania
AFP report said police found the couple’s vehicle empty and riddled with bullet holes near the village of Kobeni in southern Mauritania.

The Italian man is in his 60s and his wife, originally from Burkina Faso, is in her late 30s.

This kidnapping comes three weeks after three Spanish aid workers were kidnapped in Mauritania and a Frenchman in Mali.

The North African branch of Al-Qaeda has said it is holding the Spanish trio, along with the Frenchman at an unknown location in the Sahara.

This terrorist group has transformed Mauritania, once known as a predominantly moderate Muslim nation, to a risky place for tourists.