Yemen Hostage Crisis Ends With 4 Western Tourists Dead, 2 Injured

Yemeni troops exchanged gunfire Tuesday with Islamic extremists holding Western tourists hostage, ending a kidnapping that left four of the 16 captives dead.

An American woman and a British woman were hospitalized with injuries.

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that the American woman was in stable condition. Spokesman Lee McClenny said the woman, who has not been officially identified, was operated on and may be airlifted to a hospital in Western Europe.

The remaining 10 hostages were freed unharmed.

It was not immediately clear if the victims were slain before or during the fighting between extremists and about 200 members of Yemeni security forces. McClenny said that according to the Yemeni government, troops stormed the hide-out only after the kidnappers began killing the hostages.

The nationalities of the dead were unclear. The Yemeni Interior Ministry said all those killed were British, but the United States and Britain said an Australian was among the dead.

Three of the kidnappers, including an Egyptian, were killed, the Interior Ministry said.

The 16 tourists--12 Britons, two Americans and two Australians--were kidnapped Monday near the town of Mawdiyah, about 175 miles southeast of Sana, the capital.

Tribal leaders in unruly Yemen have frequently kidnapped tourists to pressure the government into providing them with new roads, water or clinics.

The latest incident marked the first time an abduction was carried out by Islamic extremists. Security officials said the kidnappers belong to the Islamic Jihad group.