Al-Qaeda claims kidnap of Australians in Burkina Faso

Australian doctor Ken Elliott and his wife Jocelyn were kidnapped in Djimbo as gunmen attacked hotel in Ouagadougou.

The couple were abducted in the northern town of Djimbo, as gunmen attacked a hotel in Ouagadougou [Joe Penney/Reuters]

An al-Qaeda tied group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of an Australian couple last month near Burkina Faso's border with Mali.
Dr Ken Elliott and his wife Jocelyn, who are in their 80s, were abducted from the northern town of Djibo on January 15.
In a purported audio message, al-Mourabitoun, a branch of the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group, said on Friday it had decided to release the wife unconditionally.

"It is our religious duty to respect the civilians, based on the Prophet's Hadith on not harming women, the elderly and the children and based on the guidance by our commanders," the audio statement released on AQIM's official Telegram channel said.

Ouagadougou attack

The Australian couple have lived in Djibo since 1972, where they operated a 120-bed clinic treating the local population.
They were abducted as AQIM fighters raided a hotel and a restaurant in the capital Ouagadougou in an attack that killed at least 27 people.
In the audio recording, al-Mourabitoun said that they were willing to exchange the Australian hostage after they secure the release of their own fighters in custody.
"The primary motive behind their kidnapping was an attempt to (gain) release of our captives who sit behind bars and suffer the pain of imprisonment, as well as being deprived of their basic rights," the recording stated.

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Mali attack explainer: Who, why and what's next?

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On November 23, al-Mourabitoun claimed responsibility for a nine-hour hostage taking siege at a five-star hotel in the Malian capital of Bamako.
The group said it had carried out the attack, during which 21 people were killed, "in coordination with Imarat al-Sahra group and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb".