Nine hostages found dead in Yemen

NINE missing foreigners in Yemen, including three children, have been murdered, said a Yemeni official yesterday, apparently executed by their kidnappers in the impoverished nation in the Arabian peninsula where al-Qaida has a strong presence.

The nine foreigners,including seven Germannationals, a Briton and a South Korean, disappeared last week while on a picnic in the restive northern Saada region of Yemen.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, announced the discovery of the remaining six bodies last night after three others had been found mutilated earlier in the day.

Yemen, the poorest nation in the Middle East, is home to restive tribes, a Shi’ite rebellion, as well as a branch of al-Qaida which operates in its remote regions and has often targeted foreigners as well as the US embassy.

Shepherds roaming the area found the remains of three of the women in the mountainous northern Saada province near the town of el-Nashour, known as a hideout for al-Qaida militants, the official said.

In Berlin, the Foreign Ministry said it could not confirm the reports that the Germans had been killed. A spokesman said that a ministry crisis team and the German embassy in San’a were working together to try and get more details.

Yemeni authorities said the group included a German doctor, his wife and their three children, as well as a Briton and his South Korean wife and two other German nationals. They were all working in a hospital in Saada, the state news agency said.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry identified their national by her family name, Eom, and said she is a 34-year-old aid worker in Yemen.