2 Missing Arab Envoys in Algeria Found Unharmed

Two Arab ambassadors were found unharmed Friday, a week after they were reported kidnaped, authorities said.

Found with the ambassadors of Oman and Yemen were a Moroccan driver and another Yemenite, according to security sources speaking on condition of anonymity.

There was no immediate comment on how and where they were located.

The four disappeared July 15, adding to a climate of fear among foreigners prompted by the murder this month of 14 Italians and East Europeans by Islamic extremists.

The car that had been carrying ambassadors Hilal ibn Salem ibn Hamoud Siyabi of Oman and Qassem Askar Gibran of Yemen was found gutted by fire in an Islamic fundamentalist stronghold near the Algiers airport.

The respected Algerian daily El Watan had speculated that the abduction could be linked to Yemen’s recent civil war.

Gibran was a supporter of the southern separatists who lost the war and was likely to be relieved of his post, El Watan reported.

Arab diplomats said Mohammed Qassem Essour, a friend of Gibran and a leading member of the separatist Yemeni Socialist Party, was the other Yemenite.

No ransom demand was made, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

No one claimed responsibility, and representatives abroad of the fundamentalist Islamic Salvation Front condemned the act.