Official: Assailants stab Japanese diplomat in failed abduction in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa

SANAA, Yemen – A security official in Yemen says assailants stabbed a Japanese diplomat in the capital, Sanaa, during a failed kidnapping attempt.

The official said Sunday that the kidnappers attacked the diplomat not far from the Japanese Embassy and stabbed him after he resisted them. The official says the attackers fled with the diplomat’s car.

The official did not provide the diplomat’s name but said he was taken to hospital and that his injuries were not serious. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly to journalists.

Kidnappings are frequent in Yemen, an impoverished nation where armed tribesmen and al-Qaida-linked militants take hostages in an effort to swap them for prisoners or cash.