MISSING ITALIAN COUPLE ARE SUSPECTED OF BEING KIDNAPPED

An Italian couple and their driver went missing in Kobonni in eastern Mauritania late on 18 December 2009 in what authorities suspect was a kidnapping. The victims' vehicle was found abandoned and damaged by bullets near the Mali border on 19 December. Islamic militant groups are known to operate in the Sahel desert region where the suspected kidnapping took place; if confirmed as a kidnapping, the incident will mark the third case involving European nationals being taken in the region within the past two months.