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Rabat– A Spanish tourist was abducted on Wednesday, January 15, in southern Algeria by armed terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS).
While the kidnapping has been reported by Spanish and Sahelian media, Algerian authorities have yet to issue any statement of confirmation, raising concerns about a significant security lapse in the region.
The Spanish government has launched an investigation into the incident, based on information from local sources deemed “reliable and consistent.”
According to El Pais, the victim was allegedly taken by EIGS operatives in southern Algeria and transferred to neighboring Mali. Initially, reports suggested that the victim was a woman. However, Spanish officials later clarified that the kidnapped individual is a man, according to EFE News.
In light of the incident, Spain has urged its citizens traveling to Algeria to report their movements to Spanish consulates and the Algerian gendarmerie for enhanced safety.
Other Western countries have similarly cautioned their nationals about the risks of traveling to Algeria, which remains a high-risk destination due to persistent security challenges in certain areas.
The kidnapping follows a similar incident in Africa just six days earlier when an Austrian woman was abducted in Niger. Both kidnappings have been linked to EIGS, a terrorist group formed in 2015 after splitting from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
EIGS, founded by Adnan Abu El Walid Es-Sahraoui—an ex-Polisario militia member killed in a 2022 French airstrike—maintains extensive networks in southern Algeria and the Sahel region.
These events signal the ongoing threat posed by militant groups in the Sahel and the challenges faced by Algeria in securing its vast and sometimes volatile southern regions.
