By Xinhua,

Sana'a : Two female Japanese tourists were kidnapped near Yemen's major tourist attraction Marib on Wednesday, local officials told foreign media.

The Japanese women were seized by unknown armed men while visiting a historic dam in the town of Marib, some 180 kilometers east of the capital of Sanaa, said the media reports.

The armed men took the two women, members of a tourist group sightseeing near the old dam of Marib, in their vehicle and kicked away their Yemeni driver, a provincial government official was quoted as saying.

The kidnappers also shot at Yemeni soldiers accompanying the tourists and wounded one of them before they seized the two Japanese women and sped away in a car, said another local official.

However, no immediate official confirmation is available at the moment.

Over the past decade, dozens of holidaymakers and foreigners have been kidnapped in Yemen by tribesmen demanding better schools, roads and services, or the release of prisoners.