Why does al-Qaeda kidnap so many French nationals?

Involvement in Mali and large ransom payouts could be partially to blame

PARIS (AP) — The red warning zones expand along with the numbers of French men, women and now children who have become the largest group of nationals held hostage by al-Qaeda and its loose affiliates.

With the kidnapping of a family of seven — including four children — outside a national park in northern Cameroon this week, France added two new countries to the growing list of former colonies that are considered unsafe for travel. It counts 15 citizens being held in the western half of Africa either by al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch or the terror group’s allies. The US, with nine hostages held by al-Qaeda-linked groups worldwide, is now a distant second, according to IntelCenter. No other country comes close.

Some of the reasons why:

— France’s intervention in Mali to drive out al-Qaeda linked extremists: Even before the French ground offensive in January, Islamic extremists threatened in October to “open the doors of hell” for French citizens. “He will not be able to count the bodies of French expatriates across West Africa and elsewhere,” said Oumar Ould Hamaha, a spokesman for Islamist group MUJWA, after France pushed the UN resolution to drive out the al-Qaeda-linked militants.

— Uranium, gas, oil: France’s corporate influence in its former colonies remains strong. Among kidnap victims are employees of French nuclear company Areva who were taken from a uranium mine in Niger; GDF, the French gas conglomerate, confirmed that it was an employee and his family who were taken captive in Cameroon. And Total, the French oil company, has been among the major player in Nigerian extraction for decades.

— Ransoms: Vicki Huddleston, a former US ambassador to Mali, recently alleged that France paid a $17 million ransom to free hostages seized from the Areva site — cash she said ultimately funded the al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants its troops are now fighting. French officials deny paying any ransoms, but analysts and other US officials say a policy of payments by middlemen have made French hostages extremely lucrative.

The breakdown of hostages, according to IntelCenter:

— France: 15

— United States: 9

— South Africa: 4

— Canada: 3

— Countries with two hostages include: Finland, Lebanon, Netherlands, Spain, Syria, Britain.

— Countries with one hostage include: Austria, Australia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Germany (dual US citizen).