NEWS: German mountaineers reported kidnapped on Mount Ararat

The governor of the eastern Turkish province of Agri says Kurdish rebels have kidnapped three German climbers on Mount Ararat. Mehmet Cetin said Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels seized the climbers late on Tuesday in protest at the Berlin government's crackdown on PKK-affiliated bodies and supporters in Germany. The official said the climbers were part of a 13-member German team that was allowed to climb Mount Ararat believed by many to be the final resting place of the Biblical Noah's Ark. There's been no confirmation of the incident from the German embassy in Turkey. In the past, PKK rebels have abducted and released several foreign tourists and climbers in the country's southeast. The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in the region since 1984.

Source: Deutsche Welle



Ararat am 4. November 2007 von Narek