Jim's Military News: Bedouin

Showing posts with label Bedouin. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Abducted Israeli, Norwegian tourists freed in Egypt

3/26/2013 05:12:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

CAIRO, March 26 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli man and a Norwegian woman who were kidnapped Friday in Egypt's governorate of South Sinai have been freed, a local security source told Xinhua Tuesday.

The release came after two days of negotiations between the security authorities and the kidnappers under the mediation of tribal elders, the source said.

The freed hostages, both in good conditions, are going back to their home countries on separate ways -- the Israeli man through the port of Taba adjacent to Israel and the Norwegian woman heading for Cairo for a flight home.

The security authorities confirmed that the kidnappers had been pressing for the release of their jailed family members in exchange for freeing the hostages, who were held by them in a cave area in central Sinai.

The two were abducted by armed tribesman when they were travelling on Taba-Dahb highway of South Sinai four days ago.

"Armed tribesmen intercepted the tourists' car and then forced the two tourists and their driver into their truck," but the driver was released shortly, sources told Xinhua after the Friday kidnapping.

Kidnapping of tourists in Sinai by Bedouins repeated lately, but almost all of them were released without casualties with the help of tribe leaders.

from XINHUA
2013-03-26 15:11:51

Bedouins free kidnapped U.S. tourists in Egypt: security

7/16/2012 11:00:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

Egyptian Bedouin tribesmen on Monday released two U.S. tourists who had been held in captivity for three days in the Sinai Peninsula, a senior security official told AFP.

“The two have been released after successful negotiations with the Bedouins and they are now in the North Sinai security headquarters,” the official said.
The negotiations were being mediated by Bedouin elders, the official said, but refused to elaborate on the terms of the deal.

The lead kidnapper, Germy Abu Masouh, abducted the two -- an American man and a woman -- and their guide in Egypt’s lawless Sinai on Friday, demanding the release of his uncle who is being held on drugs charges.

General Ahmed Bakr, the head of North Sinai security, confirmed that the three had been released, in statements carried by the official MENA news agency.

“They are all in good health,” he said, adding that the U.S. embassy had been notified of the Americans’ release.

“Preparations are being made to transport them to Cairo,” Bakr said.
The sparsely populated Sinai region is where Egypt’s most lucrative tourist resorts are located, but it is also home to a mostly poor and disaffected Bedouin population.

Since an uprising overthrew President Hosni Mubarak last year, the Sinai has grown ever more lawless, with attacks on police stations and 14 bombings targeting a pipeline that exports gas to neighboring Israel and Jordan.

The Bedouin have pressed hard for the release of captive tribesmen they say have been sentenced unfairly on charges ranging from terrorism to drugs dealing and people trafficking across the border into Israel.

They have done so in increasingly frequent tourist kidnappings over the past year.

In May, a tourist from Singapore was kidnapped for several hours. Two American tourists kidnapped near the Red Sea resort of Dahab in May were released after less than 24 hours in captivity.

All of the previous hostages have been released unhurt.

from AL ARABIYA NEWS
Last Updated: Mon Jul 16, 2012 21:41 pm (KSA) 18:41 pm (GMT)

Egypt confirms release of 2 kidnapped American tourists: U.S. official

6/01/2012 01:43:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

Shaded relief map of the Sinai Peninsula, 1992, produced by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WASHINGTON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Egypt has confirmed to the United States the release of two American tourists who were kidnapped in the country's Sinai Peninsula, the U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Thursday.

"Egyptian officials have confirmed to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo that the two U.S. citizens kidnapped on the Sinai Peninsula on May 30 have been released unharmed," Toner said in a statement.

"The U.S. Embassy has been in touch with the victims' families and is providing appropriate consular assistance," he added.

The two Americans were kidnapped Thursday morning by some local Bedouins on the Sinai Peninsula. The kidnappers demanded the release of a tribesman arrested in a drug case Wednesday.

This was the fourth kidnapping case in the area since February. Two Americans and three South Korean tourists were abducted by Bedouins in the area on Feb. 3 and Feb. 10 respectively.

Two kidnapped Brazilian tourists in Egypt's Sinai released

3/19/2012 11:41:00 AM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

CAIRO, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Two Brazilian tourists and an Egyptian tour guide had been released early Monday after being kidnapped for nine hours in South Sinai by Bedouin gunmen, a security source told Xinhua.

The Egyptian military forces and local police tried to rescue the tourists and their guide who were taken as hostages during their way back from Saint Catherine monastery to Sharm el-Sheihk with the help of local Bedouin sheikhs, the source added.

This was the third kidnapping case in the area since February. Two Americans and three South Korean tourists were abducted by Bedouins in the area on Feb. 3 and Feb. 10 respectively. The kidnappers demanded the release of their relatives who were jailed for involvement in terrorist activities.

On Friday, Bedouins in North Sinai ended their eight consecutive days of siege of the camp of an international peacekeeping force after negotiations with the authorities for similar demands.