British hostages still alive

Two British and American hikers captured by Kashmiri militants on Tuesday in the Indian Himalayas were still alive on Friday, writes Tim McGirk in New Delhi. Police officials claim that the hostages, Britons Paul Wells, 23, from Blackburn, and Keith Mangan, from London, and the two Americans, were seen with their armed captors near Tral, a village in the hills about 25 miles from Lidder valley in southern Kashmir.

A German tourist was kidnapped yesterday, and Indian police suspect it was carried out by the same Al-Faran militant outfit, which is seeking the release of 21 militant commanders from Indian jails. The German, identified as Dirk Hasert, was seized in Chandanwari, close to where the two Britons and Americans were taken.

Tourist black hole, page 17