Five kidnapped in Mali

In the northern town of Hombori, Mali, two Frenchmen working for a cement firm were abducted on Nov. 23, 2011. On Nov. 25, three more Westerners were kidnapped and a fourth tourist, a German, was killed on a street in Timbuktu. The al Qaeda group Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), claimed responsibility and has continued to hold the hostages captive.

As of January, it was believed that at least 12 Europeans were being held by AQIM in the Sahel region of Northwest Africa, near the Sahara Desert.