Three Koreans kidnapped in Sinai

AL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Armed tribesmen stopped a tourist bus and kidnapped three Korean tourists and their guide in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula on Friday, the region’s security chief said.

It was the latest in a series of kidnappings in Sinai, which has seen a surge in lawlessness over the last year as armed tribes and Islamist militants have asserted their power and clashed with security forces.

Maj. Gen. Mohammed Naguib, the head of security for southern Sinai, said the abductions took place around 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the sixth-century St. Catherine’s Monastery, close to where two American tourists were taken last week.

In both incidents, tribesmen took some of the passengers from a tour vehicle while leaving others behind.

Tribesmen often abduct tourists to use in negotiations with the government over the release of imprisoned colleagues. The tourists are rarely harmed.

Other tribesmen briefly kidnapped 18 Egyptian security guards on Thursday to protest the killing of one of their clan. After holding negotiations with tribal leaders, the kidnappers freed the guards, one of the security officials said.

The two American women abducted last week said afterward that their captors served them tea and dried fruit.