Al-Qaeda has threatened to kill two Austrian hostages it had abducted in Tunisia if Vienna fails to secure the release of some of the group's members jailed in Tunisia and Algeria.
The three-day ultimatum started at midnight, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said in a statement posted on an Islamist website.
Andrea Kloiber (43)and Wolfgang Ebner (51) whose abduction in north Africa was claimed by al Qaeda. REUTERS/Franz Neumeier
"Austria would be responsible for the lives of the two hostages should the deadline come and our demands are not met," the militant group said.
The hostages on the site were identified in the Austrian media as Andrea Kloiber (43) and Wolfgang Ebner (51).
Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said efforts were being made to secure the release of the hostages but noted that the demands were outside Vienna's jurisdiction.
"As you care for the safety of your citizens, we care to free our brothers who face the ugliest forms of torture at the prisons of Tunisia . . . and Algeria," Islamic Maghreb said.
"We ask the families of the hostages and the Austrian public opinion to press their country's (government) to meet the demands of the mujahideen to preserve the lives of the two tourists," it added.
The group, which has been waging a campaign against government forces and foreign interests in North Africa, said its members were jailed for confronting "the new crusade against Islam".