Checks over Briton after 'Yemen kidnap deaths'

The Foreign Office today said they were "very concerned" at reports that a Briton was among a number of people found dead after a suspected kidnapping in North Yemen.

The nine foreigners, believed to include a British engineer, seven Germans, and a South Korean, disappeared last week while on a picnic in the northern Saada region of Yemen.

It was reported that they had been seized by Shia rebels.

A Yemeni security official told the Associated Press today that all nine had now been found dead.

A spokeswoman from the Foreign Office said: "We are very concerned about reports that bodies have been found. We are seeking details."

Yemen, one of the poorest nations in the Middle East, is home to restive tribes and a Shia rebellion, as well as a division of al-Qa'ida which operates in its remote regions and has often targeted foreigners.

The Foreign Office could not confirm the identity of the missing Briton.

Yesterday they announced they were looking into reports that the group had been kidnapped.

A spokeswoman said: "We can confirm we have received reports of one British National, with a number of foreign nationals, being kidnapped in Yemen. We are investigating."