Armed Yemeni tribesmen kidnapped two US tourists, a husband and wife, near the Yemeni capital Sana'a Monday and were demanding the release of a jailed relative, Yemeni security officials said. The couple's Yemeni driver and a translator were also taken hostage, the officials said. The kidnappers were seeking government intervention to free a family member in jail over a land dispute that was before the courts, a tribal source said. “Armed tribesmen ambushed a car carrying tourists and their Yemeni driver and took them to their area,” one security official said. Another official said the kidnapping was not thought to have any broader political motive. A US diplomat in Sana'a confirmed that two Americans had been kidnapped but had no further details. Kidnappings of foreigners and Yemenis are common in the impoverished Arabian peninsula country, where hostages are often used by disgruntled tribesmen to press demands on authorities. Most hostages taken in Yemen have been freed unharmed, but in 2000 a Norwegian diplomat was killed in crossfire and in 1998 four Westerners were killed during an army attempt to free them. A Yemeni government official said authorities had made contact with the kidnappers and a team of negotiators was headed to the mountainous area where the Americans were being held. Security officials said the US couple were seized in Al-Haima, an impoverished coffee- and qat-growing region that was considered fairly safe. The area is near the main road from Sana'a to Hudaida on the Red Sea coast, a common overnight destination for tourists who visit archaeological sites near the coast or the Haraz mountains. Tourists travelling between Sana'a and Hudaida are required to inform police of their trip but do not typically need a security escort, as is necessary in some other areas of Yemen.
