Spanish media are reporting the kidnapping of a Spanish woman in southern Algeria.
The perpetrators allegedly took the victim across the border with Mali, leaving behind the people she was with.
The abduction is being attributed to Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS), which is active in various parts of the Southern Sahara, the vast region of harsh desert terrain also called the Sahel.
Like its fierce rival, the al-Qaida offshoot Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (Support Group for Islam and Muslims – JNIM), IS-GS has a history of kidnapping Westerners and treating them with great brutality before releasing them in exchange for large ransoms.
The kidnapping of the Spanish woman, if confirmed, would be the second in the Southern Sahara this year.
Gunmen kidnapped an Austrian woman on Saturday in the desert town of Agadez in central Niger, forcing her into an all-terrain vehicle.
She was identified Eva Gretzmacher, an aid worker who has lived in Agadez for over 20 years.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry said it is in contact with regional authorities about the abduction.
Islamic terrorism risks are acute in much of the Sahel.
Worsening the security situation still more, Niger and the neighboring countries of Mali and Burkina Faso each threw out French and other foreign anti-terrorism troops after undergoing military coups in recent years.
This service long has discouraged in the strongest possible terms travel to Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, southern Algeria and northern Mauritania, except for heavily guarded oil, gas and mining facilities, which should be reached only by air.
