BAMAKO (AFP)
The kidnappers of two Frenchmen snatched in Mali last month have been arrested, security sources said Monday.
“The group responsible for the abduction of the two Frenchmen in Hombori were arrested by Mali’s security services,” one source said, giving no details of the number detained or the circumstances.
The sources said the arrests happened in Mali and investigations were continuing.
Philippe Verdon and Serge Lazarevic were seized at gunpoint from their hotel in the town of Hombori near the border with Niger on November 24.
Al-Qaeda’s north African wing said in a non-authenticated statement sent to AFP bureau’s in Rabat last week said it was responsible for the kidnapping of the pair and three Europeans a day later in Timbuktu, northern Mali.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) accused Verdon and Lazarevic, who claimed to be mineral prospectors, of working for French intelligence.
Pictures of all five Westerners guarded by armed masked men were also released.
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