Algeria said for the first time yesterday that 31 European tourists who vanished deep in the Sahara Desert over the past two months were being held hostage, and officials were in contact with the kidnappers.
A Government source said armed rebels were suspected of holding the adventure holidaymakers, who disappeared while travelling in seven separate groups, some on motorbikes.
"Contacts are under way to liberate the tourists," Parliament's Tourism Commission president, Mohamed Karout, told Algerian national radio.
31 Algerian tourists held hostage
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