Al-Qaida in North Africa says it has killed French engineer abducted in Niger in April

Al-Qaida in N. Africa says French hostage killed

CAIRO — The leader of al-Qaida’s offshoot in North Africa said in a message broadcast Sunday that the group has killed a French engineer taken hostage in Niger in April.

In an audio message broadcast on Al-Jazeera, Abdelmalek Droukdel said the group killed the 78-year-old French hostage in retaliation for the killing of six al-Qaida members in a recent raid by Mauritanian forces aided by the French military.

The hostage, Michel Germaneau, was abducted April 22 in Niger and officials believed he was subsequently taken to Mali. Al-Qaida demanded in several Internet messages addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy that France help negotiate the release of the group’s prisoners in countries in the region.

“Sarkozy has (not only) failed to free his compatriot in this failed operation, but he opened the doors of hell for himself and his people,” Droukdel said.

“As a quick response to the despicable French act, we confirm that we have killed hostage Germaneau in revenge for our six brothers who were killed in the treacherous operation,” he said.

Sarkozy’s office would not confirm the death Sunday night or comment on the audio message, but said the French president will convene a special meeting of security officials Monday morning to discuss the situation.

The precise circumstances of the recent military raid in northwest Africa remain a mystery. In announcing the operation on Friday, the French Defense Ministry would not say when or where the raid took place.

The Spanish newspaper El Pais and other media have reported that the raid took place early Thursday and was an attempt to free the French hostage. But El Pais said the troops did not find Germaneau, who had worked for Algeria’s oil industry.

The offshoot of the terror network, known as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, had given France until Monday to help secure the release of its jailed members in the region, warning that the aid worker would be executed if Paris failed to comply.

The group is also holding two Spanish aid workers, Roque Pascual and Albert Vilalta, who were taken hostage in Mauritania in November.

Amid increasing concerns about terrorism and trafficking in northwest Africa, four countries — Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger — in April opened a joint military headquarters deep in the desert. The goal has been to establish a collective response to threats from traffickers and the al-Qaida offshoot.

The United States is also trying to help and has provided U.S.-run training sessions for African troops in the area.

Before retiring, Germaneau worked in the Algerian oil sector. He later ran an aid group that worked in African countries and is based in eastern France called Enmilal. The association couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday night.

In a clip released by his captors in May, Germaneau appealed to Sarkozy to “find a good solution for me.” He said he was suffering from a heart condition and that he had run out of medicine.

Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.