Colombian Rebels Kidnap Eight Tourists

[Nambe]

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)

Eight foreign tourists have been kidnapped by a leftist rebels in a mountainous region of northern Colombia, authorities said Sunday.

Four Israelis, two Britons, one German and a Spaniard were seized late Friday in the Sierra Nevada mountains, about 465 miles north of the capital, Bogota, said a senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli Embassy spokesman, who also asked that his name not be used, said the embassy had been formally notified by Colombia authorities that its nationals were among those held. The British Embassy declined immediate comment, while phones rang unanswered at the German Embassy. ---

Colombia has the highest kidnapping rate in the world with nearly 3,000 people abducted each year. The FARC, the nation's largest and most brutal rebel group, is blamed for most of the kidnappings.


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