France confirms killing of hostage in Algeria
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E-mail Xinhua, September 25, 2014
French President Francois Hollande confirmed on Wednesday the death of a French man abducted in eastern Algeria by a group linked to Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria.
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An undated recent handout photo taken in the Nice area and provided by family shows 55-year-old Herve Gourdel, who was kidnapped on September 21, 2014 by Jund al-Khilifa, a group linked to radical Islamic State (IS) militants in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou region in eastern Algeria. [Shanghai Daily via agencies] |
At a UN General Assembly meeting in New York city, Hollande affirmed that Herve Gourde, 55, seized by the Caliphate Soldiers, was "cowardly and cruelly murdered."
"This assassination will reinforce our determination to continue fighting terrorism everywhere. We will continue the combat against Daesh. Military air strikes will therefore continue," Hollande stressed.
The French president said he is to head a defense meeting at the Elysee on Thursday to discuss Paris military operation in Iraq and ways to ensure expatriates and citizens safety.
In a video footage the IS urged followers to attack Westerners whose nations have joined a coalition to fight the jihadist group after France launched, last Friday, its first air raids which destroyed IS targets.
France raised the threat level at 30 of its embassies across the Middle East and Africa, urging its expatriates to show high vigilance and closely follow the ministry's security recommendations.
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