An armed gang of kidnappers has abducted three tourists and killed a fourth in the city of Timbuktu in northern Mali, security sources said....

On Thursday, two French geologists were kidnapped by an armed gang in the eastern village of Hombori.
Links:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15895908 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15877709

Unclear what the motives are, notably if an act of terrorism and some distance between the two places.