Yemen Trying to Free Kidnapped Tajik Woman

A Tajik woman was kidnapped last month by tribesmen in Yemen's eastern Marib province, the interior ministry said on Friday, adding that work was under way to secure her release.

"Yemeni security services in Marib are doing all they can to free the Tajik citizen kidnapped in Marib in late October," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saba news agency.

A report by the Kyrgyz AKIPress agency said the woman was working as a doctor in Yemen, without providing details.

The interior ministry released the names of her alleged captors as tribesmen Ali, Mohammed and Naser Huraidkan.

It said it was treating the woman's release as "a top priority".

Tribal sources said the kidnappers are pressing the authorities to release fellow tribesmen held on criminal charges.

Hundreds of foreigners have been abducted in Yemen over the past two decades by tribesmen who use them as bargaining chips in disputes with the Sanaa government.

Nearly all were freed unharmed.