The tourists were travelling without guides
Talks are under way to secure the freedom of 31 European tourists who are being held in the Sahara desert, the Algerian Government has said.
"Contacts are taking place at the moment on the liberation of
the tourists," Tourism
Minister Lakhdar Dorbani told the national parliament's tourism
commission, Algerian state radio reports.
His statement was the first confirmation by an Algerian
official that talks to secure the release of the
hostages were being held.
The minister declined to specify with whom the talks were being
Some of the 31 tourists - 15 Germans, 10 Austrians, four Swiss
nationals, a Dutchman and a Swede - have been missing since
El Watan newspaper quotes Algerian security
officials as saying that a gang of bandits had kidnapped the tourists in return for a ransom, and that talks on securing their release had
been under way for three weeks.
The paper said the tourists had been located in the Tamelrik
mountain range, about 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) south-east of
Earlier reports speculated that the tourists had been kidnapped
by the militant Islamic Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
(GSPC), linked to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Algeria has deployed thousands of soldiers in a major search for
the tourists in the vast Sahara desert.
Last week, Algerian Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni said he
thought the tourists were alive.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is reported to have offered special forces to Algeria to help search for the tourists.
The offer was included in a letter sent last week to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, German weekly Der Spiegel says in its Monday edition.