NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) — An al-Qaida offshoot says it's behind the abduction of two Italians in Mauritania earlier this month.
An audio message from an al-Qaida in North Africa spokesman calls the Dec. 19 kidnapping a punishment for -- in his words -- "crimes committed by the Italian government in Afghanistan and Iraq."
The married couple were traveling from Mauritania to Burkina Faso when gunmen took them from their 4-wheel drive vehicle. The abduction happened in a desert area known to be filled with bands of armed men.
Italy's foreign minister says intelligence agencies are checking the al-Qaida claim, but he says it's likely the couple are in the hands of the radical Islamist group.
Mauritania was once known as a predominantly moderate Muslim nation on Africa's western coast. More recently, it has been rocked by attacks by a North African al-Qaida group.
