ALGIERS – An Italian woman tourist travelling with a driver and a tour guide has been kidnapped in the Sahara desert region of southern Algeria, security sources said Friday. The 56-year-old Italian who has not been identified was abducted Wednesday around 6:00 pm (1700 GMT) in Alidena, an area around 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Djanet, the main town in southeastern Algeria, a security official in the region contacted by AFP said.
The driver and guide who accompanied her were freed following the abduction and told investigators they had been kidnapped by “14 men riding in two Toyota trucks”. The army, which controls the desert region of Alidena, has been put on alert and is searching for the vehicles but the abductors have probably already left the country, the sources said.
