AQIM targets Europeans for ransom money

"Al-Qaeda is stocking up on European hostages in a bid to force the EU to resolve the hostage crisis in the Sahel," reports ABC. The Spanish daily notes that five Europeans are now being held in the Sahel: three French nationals abducted in Mauritania by "Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb" (AQIM) on 29 November, and two Italians, who were captured in Mali a few days later. "In consultation with Spanish and Italian intelligence agencies, the French secret service, which is extensively deployed in the region, is directing operations to contact and negotiate with the terrorists," reportsABC. The terrorist group, which benefits from the support of a number of Tuareg tribes as well as drug and arms smuggling gangs operating in the largely lawless region, "may even demand a single ransom payment for all of the hostages," within the framework of a "probable plan to exert greater pressure on the EU," concludes the daily.