Al-Qaida hostage 'may have been dead before raid'

The North Africa branch of al-Qaida may have executed a French hostage in the Sahara before a failed raid to free him, France’s prime minister said today.

Francois Fillon said France is “at war against al-Qaida” and defended what he called a last-ditch effort to free 78-year-old hostage Michel Germaneau last week.