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Spaniards 'taken hostage' in Mauritania

Spanish authorities have had no contact with three Spanish volunteers kidnapped in Mauritania by suspected al-Qaeda militants over the weekend, Spain's ambassador has said.

Ambassador Alonso Dezcallar y Mazarredo refused to comment on reports that the hostages had been found close to Nouakchott on Tuesday.

There were also conflicting reports from Morocco over the fate of the three, who are feared to have been kidnapped on Tuesday by the hardline al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) - the north African branch of Osama bin Laden's Islamist network.

"We cannot confirm nor deny reports that the hostages have been freed," the ambassador told a press conference.

"We have not had contact with them since the kidnapping."

The diplomat refused to give details about the search for the kidnappers and their hostages, saying it could endanger the lives of the volunteers and hamper rescue operations.

"Our priority is the security of the hostages and getting them out alive," Dezcallar y Mazarredo said.

Speaking later on Tuesday, a Moroccan security source announced that the three had been abandoned by their kidnappers in the Aguouimite region, a buffer zone located between northern Mauritania and southern Western Sahara.

But this was promptly denied by a Moroccan government official.

"This information is pure speculation," the official source told AFP in Rabat.