NOUAKCHOTT, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Mauritanian authorities identify the lately abducted Italian couple as Sergio Seguella andhis Burkinabe wife Data Bazeri Silma, the latest victims of the alQaeda branch in north Africa AQMI.

The couple and their driver were abducted on Friday night near Kobonni, more than 1,500 km away from Nouakchott in the extreme east of Mauritania, when they wanted to cross the Malian border on their way to Burkina Faso in a Suzuki car, the authorities said.

The Italian tourists and their driver were intercepted by armed bandits at Mneicira, 18 km from Kobonni.

Although nobody has claimed responsibility for the abduction, the second in less than one month in Mauritania, the authorities point to AQMI for a role behind a series of kidnappings in recent years.

Th abduction came at a time when negotiations were in progress in the Malian desert with AQMI on the release of four Europeans, who were abducted last month in Mauritania and Mali, including three Spanish humanitarian aid workers and one French.