German Prosecutors say Algerian Terror Leader Captured

Germany's federal prosecutor's office said on Tuesday that it had received information that an Algerian extremist, suspected of orchestrating the kidnapping of 32 European tourists last year, had been captured in Chad. A rebel group in Chad, known as the Movement for Democracy and Justice, said it was holding Amari Saifi, also known as Abderrazak al-Para, and nine others. An arrest warrant has been issued by Germany for Saifi, charging him with kidnapping, extortion, membership in a foreign terrorist organization and attempted blackmail of the German government. A spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor's office would not elaborate about the source of the information on Saifi's capture, telling the Associated Press only that authorities were clearing up the facts. A total of 32 tourists were captured in Algeria last year while they were on vacation. All but one of the 16 Germans, 10 Austrians, four Swiss, one Dutch and one Swede were released unharmed. A German woman died of heat stroke while in captivity.