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Germans Kidnapped In Yemen

Armed men have taken a German family hostage while they toured the mountains of eastern Yemen. Yemeni government officials say the family of five has been identified as Germany?s former Deputy Foreign Minister and Ambassador to the United States, Juergen Chrobog, his wife and three children.

Government officials in Shabwa, the province where the kidnapping took place report the family was on vacation and traveling in a two car convoy while on a mountain tour when a group of gunmen surrounded their vehicles and forced the family into their cars and sped off.

Members of the tribe involved in the kidnapping, who refused to be named, also confirm the German official is among the captives. The kidnappers belonged to the al-Abdullah bin Dahha tribe, a number of whose members were arrested two months ago after a clash with the bin Dahha tribe. The tribe responsible for this kidnapping has taken other hostages in the past and released them unharmed.