A group of Western tourists has been kidnapped in south-eastern Iran. Iranian Government sources have said there are three missing people, two German and one Irish. They say the tourists were abducted as they cycled between the city of Bam and Zahedan near the Pakistani border – a notorious drug-smuggling area. German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Antje Leendertse said a crisis team had been set up amid indications that Germans may be involved. It is thought that a ransom has been demanded. The kidnapping reportedly took place in the Sistan-Baluchistan province several days ago. The area is on a route used to smuggle opium from Afghanistan to Western Europe. But kidnappings there, as in the rest of the country, have been rare in recent years. A number of European tourists were abducted in southern Iran in 1999. All hostages were eventually freed unharmed, and the convicted kidnappers publicly executed. Full Story
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