Saudi forces rescue abducted German girls

Two young German girls held hostage for nearly a year in rugged north Yemen mountains were rescued by Saudi Arabia's security forces, but the fate of their doctor parents and an infant brother was unknown, officials said yesterday.

Germany welcomed news of the rescue while a relative of the family said they presumed the one-year-old brother is dead. There was also no word on the fate of a Briton abducted with them.

Saudi interior ministry spokesman General Mansour Al Turki said that the two girls, aged three and five, are in a Saudi hospital.

"Their condition is okay. But they are in the hospital to make sure they get any medical care they might need," he said.

A ministry statement released on the SPA news agency said the girls were freed on Monday.

"Security forces in communication with Yemen counterparts were able to recover the girls in the border region between the two countries on Monday," it said.