Seven, foreign nationals – thought to be from a group of nine kidnapped by Shia rebels in North Yemen – have been found shot dead according to government sources there.

The group of seven Germans, including three children, a Briton and a Korean, had been on a picnic in Saada, the interior ministry said. Two nurses among the group, had been working at the Jumhuri hospital in the region. Unconfirmed reports attributed to the Yemeni security forces also say two children have been found alive. No official sources have, as yet, substantiated the claims. Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, is struggling with an on-off revolt in the north, a secessionist movement in the south and intensified al Qaeda militancy.More about: Kidnapping, Yemen

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