BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of Ansar Dine, an al Qaeda-linked Islamist group in northern Mali, was once a trusted partner of the German government and brokered the release of hostages in 2003, Spiegel magazine said on Sunday.
Iyad Ag Ghali, a Tuareg separatist commander, was asked by Berlin to negotiate with Algerian kidnappers in 2003 for the release of 14 tourists seized in the Sahara, including nine Germans, later paying them a ransom of 5 million euros supplied by Germany, Spiegel added.
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