THREE GERMAN TOURISTS KIDNAPPED IN IRAN
TEHRAN, 8 Dec. (IPS) Three German tourists have been kidnapped in southeast Iran's by unknown people" in the unruly province of Sistan and Baloochistan, a government source and the Iranian media revealed.
Peykeiran news website said one of the kidnapped tourist is an Irish citizen.
The government source, asking not to be named, told the French news agency AFP on Monday that the three Westerners were snatched several days ago near Nosrat Abad, on the road between the ancient city of Bam, in the Province of Kerman and Zahedan, the Capital city of the Province bordering with Pakistani and Afghanistan.
Iranian authorities have received a ransom demand by telephone, he said, without specifying the amount, that some sources put at 3 millions US Dollars.
The student news agency "ISNA", quoting a provincial official, said an Iranian guide had been kidnapped at the same time by an "outlaw" who was demanding a ransom of five million dollars.
The unofficial "Rouydad" news website said the tourists, who were on a cycling trip to Zahedan, were abducted by members of the Shah-Bakhsh and Narui tribes.
In Berlin, the German foreign ministry said it has set up a crisis group to deal with the question.
"The government has learned about a kidnapping involving foreigners in Iran. We have information that there may be Germans", the ministry spokeswoman said at a routine government press conference. "A crisis group has been set up".
There was no immediate comment available from the Irish or German embassies in Tehran.
The predominately Sunni Muslim Sistan and Baloochistan, one of the poorest regions in Iran, is notorious as a corridor for the smuggling of heroin, opium and cannabis as well as arms. Iranian security forces maintain a strong presence there, with armed clashes between troops and traffickers often reported, including the many dead among Iranian border guards.
Residents of the city of Saravan, near the Pakistani border in the Province fought with security forces last week after Police shot dead a young motorist. According to a lawmaker from Zahedan, people attacked public buildings and banks and clashes with the Police and Islamist militia left between five to more than twenty people dead and wounded.
A rash of kidnappings of foreigners took place in the province several years ago, and visitors are advised to exercise prudence amid the government's efforts to clamp down hard on drug traffickers.
Authorities block border areas with trenches and dust walls and have stepped up traffic searches.
In June 1999, three Italian engineers working in Iran who were making a tourist visit to Bam were snatched. Later that year, three Spanish nationals -- including two priests -- and an Italian were abducted in the same area and held for two weeks.
And again in 1999, three Portuguese journalists were kidnapped by drug smugglers and held for three weeks. Although most kidnappings have ended with the captives being released unharmed, one German was killed south of Tehran in February 1999, AFP said. ENDS TOURISTS KIDNAPPED 81203