Chancellor urges hostage release

Relatives reported the Austrian tourists missing on 1 March

Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer has called for the release of two hostages being held in Tunisia.

The two Austrian tourists are thought to have been abducted by al-Qaeda in North Africa last month.

On Thursday, the militant group gave Austria three days to secure the freedom of members held in Algeria and Tunisia in exchange for the two.

The group posted images of the pair, whom it says it seized on 22 February, surrounded by militants in a desert.

Tourists warned

Chancellor Gusenbauer was asked about the incident as he arrived in Brussels at the beginning of an EU summit.

"Our priority is the health of the hostages. Hence we appeal to the kidnappers to free the hostages unconditionally," he told reporters.

"We do not intend to meet [their] demands," he added.

Austrian media have named the two as Andrea Kloiber, 43, and Wolfgang Ebner, 51.

In a statement posted on an Islamist website on Thursday, the militant group said Austria was "responsible for the lives of the two hostages in the event of the expiration of the time period".

The statement also warned Western tourists not to visit Tunisia and other North African countries, including Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania.

A photograph released in conjunction with the statement shows a woman - said to be Ms Kloiber - wearing a blue headscarf with her face digitally obscured.

Analysts say this may be because showing a woman's face is prohibited under radical Islamist beliefs.

Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said on Thursday that efforts were being made to secure the release of the hostages but noted the demands were outside Vienna's jurisdiction.

Relatives reported them missing when they did not return from a holiday to Tunisia on 1 March.

Tunisia, a popular destination for European holidaymakers, has seen attacks on tourists by al-Qaeda in the past.

In 2002, a truck bomb outside a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba killed 21 people, including 14 German tourists.