Al Qaedas wing in North Africa said it had killed a French hostage it was holding in response to a raid by France and Mauritania against the group, Al Jazeera television said yesterday.
A leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said in an audio recording that Michel Germaneau was killed on Saturday in revenge for the killing of six group members in the raid, the television said. France said it could not confirm that the hostage had been killed. “There is no confirmation on this.” President Nicolas Sarkozys Elysee office said.