French citizen kidnapped in Algeria

A French citizen has been kidnapped by suspected Islamic militants while hiking in a mountainous Algerian region that is a known hideout for North Africa’s al Qaida branch.

An al-Qaida splinter group has kidnapped a French citizen in Algeria and announced that it will kill him unless France ends its participation in air strikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq.

In a video that appeared on social media, a masked member of a group calling itself Jund al-Khilafah, or Soldiers of the Caliphate, warned French President Francois Hollande that it would kill the hostage if France doesn’t end its military actions against IS.