PARIS (AP) — Authorities believe al-Qaida's North Africa branch could be behind the kidnapping of five French nationals and two Africans in Niger, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday.
No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, Kouchner told Europe-1 radio, but he added: "We imagine al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is responsible."
Kouchner said the army in Niger was on "a war footing" after the kidnappings, and that French intelligence and diplomatic services have been mobilized.
Armed assailants kidnapped the seven early Thursday near the uranium mining town of Arlit, in Niger's northern Sahara desert region. Five are French, one is from Togo and …
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