Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb kidnap Austrian tourists

and say they warned us. A list of demands are to follow.

Barbarians.

"The jihadists have previously warned and alerted [Westerners] that the apostate Tunisian state cannot and will not be able to protect you, and the hands of the jihadists can reach you wherever you are on Tunisian soil."

Members of the North African branch of the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda announced Monday that they are holding two Austrian tourists hostage "in retribution" for what they claim is Western support for Israeli counter-terrorism operations. Al-Qaeda threatened more such kidnappings.


Tunisia doubts the tourists are still in Tunisia and think they may have been moved to Algeria.

The Tunisian authorities said they had conducted in vain "intense searches, combing the area by land and from the air" upon learning of the missing Austrians.

The authorities confirmed that the couple had arrived at the port of La Goulette-Tunis on February 10 from Genoa in Italy for a tour of the Saharan region.

"The couple crossed the Tunisian border and headed for the desert," the source said, citing facts obtained from a telephone conversation between the two tourists and a German operator of Saharan tours.

The audio recording warned Austrian authorities from taking any action in Algeria, a hot that the couple might be in neighboring Algeria rather than Tunisia.

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