The American and British detectives investigating last week's ill-fated kidnapping of foreign tourists in Yemen have asked permission to question the alleged abductors.

At least three of the surviving kidnappers are in jail in Abyan in Yemen for their part in the incident, which left four of the tourists dead and two others injured.

The Yemeni government says the kidnappers belong to a small, militant Islamic group called Jihad.

The American and British detectives say they also want to question them about their involvement in an alleged plot to blow up the British consulate in Aden last month for which seven men are already in jail.