The North African branch of al-Qaeda holding three Spaniards has demanded the release of imprisoned members of the international terrorist network in exchange for the aid workers, Spanish press reports said Thursday.
The reports quoted a communique published on several Islamist websites. It was signed by al-Andalus, the media arm of the Algerian-based al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), DPA reported.
AQIM earlier claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of three Spanish aid workers in Mauritania on November 29. The two men and a woman were abducted from their car which was the last in an aid convoy.
The new communique said the three had been taken to "security bases," which led the Spanish secret service to conclude they had been taken over the Mauritanian border to northern Mali. A French hostage was believed to be held there as well.
The four were "in good health," the communique said. They were being "treated according to Islamic law," a phrase which Spanish analysts interpreted as meaning they were being well treated.
Al-Qaeda would do "all it can" to obtain "the freedom of our tortured detainees from your prisons," the communique said.