Hostage held by al-Qaeda is 'sick'

A Spaniard who is one of six hostages believed to be held by the north African branch of Al-Qaeda is unwell.

Bamako, December 29, 2009 (AFP) - A Spaniard who is one of six hostages believed to be held by the north African branch of Al-Qaeda is unwell, a diplomatic source said Tuesday in Mali.

"We currently know with precision that one of the six hostages, a Spanish national, is not very well. He needs the appropriate medical care," said the diplomat, reached by an AFP Correspondent in Bamako.

"I do not want to say any more. But that's the reality and we hope that things will soon be sorted out," the source added.

A few days earlier, a local official in northern Mali told AFP: "We have learned that one of the Spanish hostages is in bad health. Those who took him want, I believe, medication for him."

Three Spanish aid volunteers, two men and a women, were kidnapped on November 29 in Mauritania when they were in the last vehicle of a convoy carrying supplies for West African associations.

According to a source close to the negotiations for their release, the kidnappers traveled 2.000 kilometers (1.240 miles) into the desert of northern Mali.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the kidnappings on December 8, when it also said it was holding a French man kidnapped in northern Mali. Last Monday, AQIM claimed responsibility for the Abduction of two Italians in Mauritania on December 18th