Suspected al-Qaeda militants kidnap Swiss woman in south Yemen

Al-Qaeda militants in have kidnapped a Swiss woman in the southern province of Shabwa and are demanding the release of their relatives from government prisons in exchange for her release, officials said.

“A Swiss woman was abducted in Hodeida (on the Red Sea coast) by armed men who moved her to Shabwa province,” a provincial official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“According to our information, al-Qaeda is responsible for the abduction,” he added.

“The kidnappers are demanding their fellow tribesmen be released (from police custody) in return for her release,” an interior minister official told Reuters. He said the woman was kidnapped on Wednesday in the Red Sea city of Hudaida.