OUAGADOUGOU: An Austrian doctor and his wife were kidnapped on Friday night by extremists in Burkina Faso’s north near its border with Mali, Abi Ouattara, security ministry spokeswoman, said on Saturday. The ministry did not have immediate information on how long the two Austrians had been in northern Burkina Faso, where they were doing volunteer work. Jihadis took the two from the town of Baraboule in the Soum province in Burkina Faso’s Sahel region, Ouattara said.

There was no immediate confirmation of the kidnapping from Austria’s Foreign Ministry. “We are trying to look into the matter as quickly as possible,” spokesman Thomas Schnoell told the Austria Press Agency.