Open season for Spanish nationals?

Three Spanish nationals working for the humanitarian aid group, Barcelona- Accio Solidaria, where kidnapped by gunmen near the Mauritanian town of Chelkhett Legtouta on the road between Nouadhibou and the capital, Nouakchott on Sunday. The incident, which has not been claimed, is somewhat of a rarity in the north west African state which has not experienced many abductions in recent years. The prime suspects in this case are undoubtedly al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the local al-Qaeda affiliated franchise. The group, which has carried out half a dozen attacks against locals and foreigners in the country in the past year, has a growing presence in the wider region and is posing a growing threat to local states keen to project an image of security to foreign investors. At the moment the aid workers remain unaccounted for and the local security forces have been dispatched to the area to search for the group. The likelihood that they will be recovered is diminishing with every passing hour due to the sheer enormity of the possible land area that needs to be searched. The abductors, if they escape the dragnet, will most likely take refuge in central or northern Mauritania or along the border with the Western Sahara before demanding a ransom payment from the Spanish government. If this happens the state will probably pay. Earlier in the month the Spanish government paid two million pounds Sterling for the release of 36 Spanish seamen kidnapped by pirates off Somalia. This policy has been criticised by the UK and other Western governments, who refuse to pay ransoms for the release of their nationals. This payment has likely sent a strong message to prospective kidnappers "Open season for Spaniards". Our message to Spanish citizens in North Africa - consider a vacation back to the homeland.