The government dispatched more helicopter-born troops on Wednesday to encircle a rugged mountain hideout and cut off water deliveries to the region where a reneged tribe is holding five Italian tourists hostage. The Associated Press saw dozens of soldiers emerge from helicopters in the Jahan area of Marib province, near where security officials say the kidnappers are holed up with their captives. Other helicopters could be seen flying low through the mountains, apparently trying to spot the tribesmen. Tribal elders, who had been negotiating with the kidnappers, said the Italians — taken captive Sunday — still were held somewhere in the vast Sirwah region of Marib province, about 120 kilometres northeast of Sanaa. Showing its growing impatience with the standoff, the government stopped delivering water to communal tanks in the area on Tuesday, a government official told The AP on condition of anonymity because he is not permitted to speak to the press. Also, Prime Minister Abdul-Kader Bajammal declared the government would strike hard against the kidnappers, whom he called terrorists.
An interior ministry official had told AP the army was about to launch an attack against the kidnappers, but aside from increasing the number of soldiers on Wednesday, there were no other signs of an imminent assault. The Italian government asked Yemeni authorities not to attack, fearing the tribesmen holding the three women and two men would kill their hostages.