Austrians: Gaddafi optimistic
2008-03-22 18:13
Vienna - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son says efforts to win the freedom of two Austrian tourists taken hostage in North Africa are going well.
Saif Gaddafi is acting as an intermediary in efforts to get the hostages freed.
Joerg Haider, who is governor of the southern Austrian province of Carinthia, says Gaddafi told him on Saturday that he was "very optimistic" after intensive negotiations with the Islamic militants holding the pair.
Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloiber disappeared in Tunisia last month.
Al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa says it is holding the couple and has demanded the release of some of its members in jails in Tunisia and Algeria.
The group has given the Austrian government until midnight (23:00 GMT) on Sunday to comply.
- AP