Islamist Group Threatens French Hostage In Video

A kidnapped Frenchman has appeared in a video, saying he is being held by an Algeria-based Islamic State splinter group.

In the footage, a spokesman for the group - which calls itself Jund al-Khilafah or Caliphate Soldiers - threatens to kill the man unless France ends its military operation against Islamic State (IS) in Iraq.

France's Foreign Ministry has confirmed the video is genuine, identifying the hostage as Herve Gourdel, 55.

In a statement it said Mr Gourdel was kidnapped on Sunday in the eastern Algerian region of Tizi Ouzou, where he was on holiday.

It said: "The threats made by this terrorist group show once again the extreme cruelty of Daech (Islamic State) and those who say they are affiliated to it."

The mountainous Tizi Ouzou region is a known hideout for al Qaeda

The video shows Mr Gourdel reading a message to camera, flanked by two armed men. 

He says: "I am in the hands of Jund al-Khilifa, an Algerian armed group. 

"This armed group is asking me to ask you (President Francois Hollande) to not intervene in Iraq.

"They are holding me as a hostage and I ask you Mr President to do everything to get me out of this bad situation and I thank you."

Jund al-Khilafah is thought to be an al Qaeda splinter group which has broken away in recent weeks and pledged allegiance to IS.

The mountainous Tizi Ouzou region is a known hideout for North Africa's al Qaeda branch, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

The abduction is reported to have taken place hours after IS threatened attacks on French citizens. The threat came after Paris launched airstrikes against them on Friday.

IS has threatened to target France, which has launched airstrikes in Iraq

An IS spokesman called on followers to kill Europeans and Americans, and "especially the spiteful and filthy French."

Responding to the video, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France would not be swayed by the militants' threats.

"We will do everything we can to liberate hostages," he told reporters.

"But a terrorist group cannot change France's position."

Mr Hollande's office, meanwhile, released a statement saying the president had spoken with Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal by phone. It said the two had agreed "total cooperation" in finding the man.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Algerian security official said the 55-year-old man had been hiking with two friends when all three were taken. 

The Associated Press news agency quoted the official as saying the victim's companions were later released and alerted the authorities.

IS has taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria in recent months, where it has declared an Islamic state, or caliphate.

The group has released videos showing the murders of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines. 

It has warned that fellow British captive Alan Henning will be next if Prime Minister David Cameron continues to support the fight against the jihadist organisation.

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