Bodies found in northern Yemen not of German hostages: Ministry

Mar 15, 2010, 18:44 GMT

Sana'a, Yemen - Five bodies found in a desert area in north- western Yemen were not those of Germans kidnapped in June 2009, Yemen's Interior Ministry said on Monday.

Security authorities 'have not lost hope to find them (the hostages) alive,' the ministry said in a report posted on its website.

It said police have recovered five unidentified corpses in the Gharamil area of Kutaf district, located between the north-western provinces of Saada and al-Jawf where a German family of five and a Briton are believed to be held by kidnappers linked to al-Qaeda.

Four bodies were found in one place and the fifth was recovered from another location in the same district, the ministry said, adding that the bodies were transferred to a hospital for forensic tests.

Local news outlets reported earlier in the day that the remains were believed to belong to the hostages who are still unaccounted for.

A German couple, their three children and a British engineer were among a group of foreign hostages - seven Germans, a Briton and a South Korean - abducted by unknown armed men in Saada in June 2009.

Three of the hostages - two German women and a South Korean female teacher - were found dead two days after the abduction.

The abduction took place as fighting flared in Saada province between government forces and Shiite rebels, who denied government accusations that they were behind the abduction.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction.