Al Qaeda: Hostages moved to Mali

Per the Jawa Report: Austrian Hostages Moved to Mali

The al-Qaeda kidnappers of Austrian tourists Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloiber are believed to have moved their captives from Tunisia through Algeria to their base in Mali (via Afrik.com):

The kidnappers and their hostages were spotted earlier on in the border towns of Tebessa and Oued Souf, in the south eastern part of Algeria, where the army had been deployed to search, according to the daily, adding that the crossing could have lasted at least four days.

Andrea Kloiber, 44 years, and Wolfgang Ebner, a 51 year old consultant, abducted from Tunesia February 22, were driven through a part of Algeria considered as a “hot” zone, a heavily armed islamist area.

A second message has been recieved from the kidnappers and now there's lots of handwringing and whinging going on in Austria, with pleas to "refrain from military action". Sounds like they're trying to figure out how to book the ransom money over in accounting to me. (Please note: On the off chance I'm ever kidnapped by these AQ scumbags - don't send money, send missiles and Marines.)

In Vienna, the Austrian government said it was examining a new message on Tuesday from the apparent kidnappers.

Interior ministry spokesman Rudolf Gollia said the message on a Web site overnight included correct passport data for the couple. "It is evidence but not proof," he said.

Foreign ministry spokesman Peter Launsky said "the message ... threatened consequences in the case of military action."

Launsky said close contact was being maintained with the governments of Algeria and Tunisia with a "plea to refrain from possible military action".

The relatives respond:

Relatives of the missing couple said at a press conference in Salzburg, the home of the tourists, that they were very concerned over the events.

“The first reaction was relief, as it was the first sign of life, and that they are well, but if you hear about Al Qaeda, everyone needs to swallow first,” Bernhard Ebner, a son of the missing tourist was quoted as saying by the Austrian press agency.

Prayers continue for the safe release of the hostages and the slow agonizing deaths of their terrorist captors.

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