Kidnappings of foreigners are not unusual in Yemen - but they usually end peacefully with a ransom being paid and the victims released unharmed.

But Monday's discovery of the dead bodies of three female foreigners who were kidnapped on Friday, has come as a shock.

The fate of six others remains unclear, despite what the Yemeni government calls a ‘manhunt’ for the perpetrators. So why did this particular kidnap end in such a disaster?

Yemeni writer and analyst Ahmed al-Faqih told RNW's Newsline that kidnappings are nothing special in his country. “Those who abduct foreigners are mostly tribesmen”, he says.

“They have grievances they want the government to address, or they simply want money. By kidnapping foreigners, they know they get the attention they want”.

Jihadists
This time, however, the kidnappers are not tribesmen, Mr al-Faqih says. “The perpetrators are jihadists”, he firmly believes. “They are part of al-Qaeda. The jihadists are known for their criminal operations in which they target innocent people, not afraid to kill them”.

Last September, jihadists killed sixteen in a car bomb attack outside the US embassy in the capital Sana'a.

The latest victims are seven Germans, a Briton and a South Korean. The group of Germans include nurses and a doctor, his wife and three children. So far the bodies of two German nurses and a South Korean female teacher have been found. There are unconfirmed reports that three more bodies have also been found. The group worked for Dutch aid organisation The World Wide Services Foundation.

War zone
The group was abducted in a mountainous area near Sana'a, described by Mr al-Faqih as “a war zone”, where clashes between jihadists and government troops often occur.

A recent abduction of a Dutch couple, who were aid workers in the region, ended in the two being released unharmed. During their kidnap, they were treated well and could even speak to journalists in the Netherlands (including Radio Netherlands Worldwide) on how they were doing. It all looked quite relaxed, so how could last Friday’s abduction end so violently?

‘Wrong place’
“I think the victims were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time”, Mr al-Faqih says.

“These people had been living and working in the area for a long time and they were respected. But unfortunately, they happened to come across violent al-Qaeda terrorists rather than ordinary tribesmen”.

Growth
According to Mr al-Faqih, the jihadists linked to al-Qaeda have had their education in Saudi Arabia, under strict religious and family rules. The rapid growth of extremism in Yemen doesn't surprise Mr al-Faqih:

“There is a level of illiteracy of 65 percent in Yemen. More than half of the population lives under the poverty line. The jihadists are well funded, they have money. They build schools and they feed the people”.

This makes the fight against al-Qaeda a huge struggle for the government. It will only get worse, Mr al-Faqih expects.

“Lately, the jihadists have clearly started to feed the people ideologically as well”, he notes. "The outcome could be very dangerous".

Listen to a Newsline interview with Ahmed al-Faqih: