A Sudanese official says kidnappers have taken to Libya 11 European tourists and eight Egyptians they abducted last week in a remote part of southwestern Egypt.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Youssef tells The Associated Press the group was moved to Libya from Sudan on Thursday and is now some 10 miles inside Libyan territory.

The kidnapped party was on a Sahara desert safari when they were snatched Friday by suspected tribesmen. They are five Germans, five Italians and one Romanian. The eight Egyptians are drivers, guides and the owner of the tour company that organized the trip.