4 foreigners kidnapped in Sanaa

According to reports published on 31 March 2009, four foreigners were kidnapped in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. Reports indicate that the kidnapped individuals may be Italians, but this has not been confirmed. According to Yemeni security forces and a tribal leader, the kidnappers took the tourists to Bani Dhebyan, a mountainous area near Sanaa. No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. Foreigners have been specifically targeted by militant groups in Yemen with the most recent attack occuring on 19 March when four South Koreans were killed in a suicide bombing near the Southern Yemeni fortress city of Shibam. Yemeni tribes also have a history of kidnapping foreign travelers to obtain economic or political concessions from the government.