[Al Arabiya Latest] Al-Qaeda's North African wing claimed responsibility on Monday for this month's kidnapping of an Italian couple in Mauritania, Al Arabiya reported.In an audiotape recorded on Dec. 27, Salah Abu Mohamed, spokesman for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, said the kidnapping was linked to the "crimes of the Italian government in Afghanistan and Iraq."
The couple, Sergio Cicala, 65, and his 39-year-old wife Philomene Kabouree, went missing in the country's southeast on Dec. 18.
Security sources reported the couple's minibus was found empty and bullet-ridden on Dec. 19.
Reports from witnesses claimed the kidnappers appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the night shooting at the bus and specifically its tires. They took the Italian couple with them leaving the bus behind.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, has also claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of three Spanish aid workers in northern Mauritania in late November.
Italy's government responded by saying that the report would not affect efforts to secure the release of the couple and that they would use all political and diplomatic channels available.
"I don't think this changes anything with respect to the efforts which are underway," Alfredo Mantica, undersecretary for foreign affairs, told Sky Italia television.
Mantica also added that kidnappings in that area were usually related to ransom money rather than ideology.
Although never officially confirmed, analysts say ransoms are often paid. However the group did execute a British hostage in Mali this year.
For its part, the Mauritanian government has sought to reassure foreigners saying it is taking "all necessary measures to ensure their security".
öIn recent years, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has extended its territory to include Mauritania. In December 2007, the group prompted the cancellation of the Dakar Rally after killing four French tourists. It has also claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in Algeria and other countries in the region.