October 27, 1999
Web posted at: 4:06 a.m. EDT (0806 GMT)

In this story: Warning after execution Over 100 kidnappings since 1991 RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON -- Three U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in Yemen, and Washington is working with the government of Yemen to win their freedom, the State Department has confirmed.

"We can confirm that three Americans were kidnapped in the Dhamar area of Yemen on Tuesday," a State Department official told Reuters. "We are working with the Yemenite government to secure their release."

The official did not disclose any information about the three Americans who were abducted or indicate who might be responsible.

The incident comes on the same day that Yemen, which has been plagued by abductions and bombings in recent months, said it would set up special courts to deal with the kidnapping of overseas nationals and acts of sabotage, the official SABA news agency reported.

Tourists and business people from abroad have been frequent kidnap targets of disgruntled tribesmen in Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. The tribesmen have also regularly bombed and damaged Yemen's main pipeline from the east of the country to the Red Sea coast.

The abductions and sabotage attacks are usually aimed at pressing demands from the government or foreign oil companies for better infrastructure in tribal areas.

The State Department issued a travel warning for Yemen on October 21, saying the level of risk for overseas nationals in Yemen is very high.

The travel warning followed threats by a militant Islamic group vowing to avenge the execution of its leader.

The Aden-Abyan Islamic Army warned Western citizens on October 19 to leave Yemen and threatened to attack Yemeni government facilities and officials.

Zein al-Abideen al-Mehdar, also known as Abu al-Hassan, was executed on October 17 after he was convicted of last December's kidnapping of 16 Western tourists, including two Americans, and the killing of four of them.

In its travel warning, the State Department said more than 100 kidnappings had occurred throughout Yemen since 1991, conducted mainly by armed tribesmen with specific grievances against the Yemeni government.

"These kidnappings are normally resolved peacefully," but tribesmen have held some kidnap victims for extended periods, the warning said, urging those Americans who traveled to Yemen despite the warnings should use extreme caution.

The kidnappings have had a dramatic impact on Yemen's tourism industry. Hotel owners and travel agents say only a trickle of tourists have come to the country since December but they expect activity to pick up during the winter.

Managers of two hotels in the capital Sanaa said they had bookings for tourist groups from Spain, France and Germany for the winter season and that there had been no cancellations after Mehdar's execution.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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