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SANAA, Dec 24 (Reuters) - A Finnish couple and an Austrian man abducted in Yemen are being held by tribesmen who are demanding a ransom in return for their freedom, an Interior Ministry official said on Monday.
"We have information that a tribal group is holding the three Western nationals and they are asking for a ransom," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. They were kidnapped in the capital Sanaa on Friday.
The ministry official told Reuters the three were being held in the town of Khawlan, about 20 km (12 miles) east of Sanaa.
Kidnappings of Westerners occur sporadically in Yemen, mostly by tribesmen seeking bargaining clout in disputes with the authorities, or by al Qaeda militants and their sympathisers.
Lawlessness in the Arabian Peninsula state has alarmed its neighbour and top world oil exporter Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States which increasingly views Yemen as a front line in its struggle against al Qaeda and its affiliates. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Mahmoud Habboush; Editing by William Maclean and Tom Pfeiffer)
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