# Sept 2016:  Canadian, Two Italians Reported Kidnapped in Libya



## The Bread Guy (20 Sep 2016)

Usual "early reports" caveats (attached) apply ...


> The Canadian foreign ministry says it was aware of reports Monday that a Canadian has been kidnapped in Libya.
> 
> “We are aware of the troubling, yet unconfirmed report of the abduction of a Canadian citizen in Libya,” Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Michael O’Shaughnessy said. “We are diligently pursuing all appropriate channels.”
> 
> ...


More via Google News here.


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## The Bread Guy (19 Oct 2016)

A bit more detail ...


> The two Italians abducted in Libya last month are thought to be in the hands of a group led by an Algerian linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) but who is acting on his own account, an Algerian security source has told the website Middle East Eye (MEE). The group is allegedly demanding a 4 million euro random for the hostages, the source added. "The group is made of Libyans and Algerians and it is led by an Algerian man. His name is Abdellah Belakahal," the source said.
> 
> The group has threatened "to surrender the hostages to AQIM or to an Islamic State's cell' if the ransom is not paid, he added. There has been no official confirmation of the reports. Bruno Cacace, 56, and Danilo Calonego, 68, were abducted together with a Canadian man named Frank on September 20 near Ghat in southern Libya.
> 
> They worked as engineers for the Italian company Contratti Internazionali Costruzioni (CO.I.COS) at the airport in Ghat.


... with word of a ransom being sought:


> Two Italians and a Canadian man, who were abducted in Libya, are allegedly in the hands of a group led by an Algerian man linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb but who is acting on his own account, security sources told Middle East Eye.
> 
> The sources said that the group was demanding a ransom of 4m euros (CDN $5.6 million) for the three hostages, who were abducted on 20 September near Ghat in southern Libya.
> 
> ...


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## The Bread Guy (5 Nov 2016)

Sounds like a happy ending to this one ...


> Two Italians and a Canadian who were kidnapped in the south of conflict-torn Libya in September have been released and flown to Italy, the Italian government announced Saturday.
> 
> The Italians, Danilo Calonego, 66, and Bruno Cacace, 56, and *Canadian Frank Poccia* were freed during the night "due to the effective cooperation with local Libyan authorities," it said in a statement.
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> ...


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