Algerian diplomats taken hostage in Mali are still alive, foreign minister says

ALGIERS, Algeria – Algeria's foreign minister says the diplomats who remain captive after being kidnapped from its Gao consulate in northern Mali in April 2012 are still alive.

At least four hostages are believed to still be held, though there have been unconfirmed reports one was killed.

Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra did not give any numbers Monday, but said without elaborating that "the Algerian diplomats are alive — this is the information from the last days."

The extremist Islamist group, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, stormed the Algerian consulate and kidnapped the consul and six other diplomats during the Islamist takeover of northern Mali last year.

There has been little information since their kidnapping. Three of the hostages were released in July 2012, but the consul remains captive.