20091227

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Malian authorities are making progress in negotiations with al Qaeda gunmen holding three Spaniards and a Frenchman hostage, a source close to the talks said on Saturday.

The source, who asked not to be named, said a former Tuareg rebel who had been involved in previous hostage negotiations was involved in the case but it was still impossible to say when the foreigners may be freed.

There was no immediate information on the fate of two Italians seized last week in Mauritania. Their capture, after the kidnapping of the Spaniards and the Frenchman, has deepened fears of gunmen seizing foreigners for ransoms in remote parts of West Africa, where groups linked to al Qaeda operate.

"Since (al Qaeda's) announcement that they are holding (the hostages), we have activated our network ... and what we can say is that negotiations are under way and are advancing," said the official who is close to the talks.

"Beyond that, whether they will be freed in the hours or days to come, no one can say," he added.

The source said that Lyad Ag Ali, a former rebel who is now Mali's consul in Jeddah and had been involved in the freeing of 32 Europeans kidnapped in 2003, was proof that talks were taking place at the highest level.

The three Spaniards were part of an aid convoy travelling to southern Senegal when they were seized in northern Mauritania in November. The Frenchman was kidnapped near the eastern Malian town of Menaka last month. The Italian pair were seized in eastern Mauritania while travelling towards Mali.

The hostages are believed to have been moved to Mali's remote north, where a mix of smugglers, bandits and groups linked to al Qaeda's North Africa wing, known as AQIM, are known to operate.

Mali's main bargaining chips are to release members of AQIM it is currently holding in prison or make concessions to Ag Ali's former Tuareg rebels, who have links with but are not directly allied to the Islamists.

However, analysts say that financial motives are central to the hostage-taking and the latest spate of kidnappings has been fuelled by Western governments paying money for its citizens seized in the region over the last few years.