Algerian militants ‘behead’ French hiker

Jund Al Khilifa (Soldiers of the Caliphate), a terrorist group linked to ISIL, claims in a video posted online that they executed Herve Gourdel, 55, who they kidnapped in a national park on Sunday.

The Algerian military sends troops into mountains east of Algiers on Wednesday in a failed bid to find a Frenchman who was kidnapped and later beheaded by militants. Reuters

ALGIERS // Militants linked to ISILclaimed to have beheaded a Frenchman abducted in Algeria in a video posted online on Wednesday, after Paris rejected their demand to halt strikes in Iraq.

Herve Gourdel, 55, was kidnapped on Sunday by Jund Al Khilifa, or “Soldiers of the Caliphate,” while hiking in a national park that was once a major draw for tourists but became a sanctuary for Islamists.

It follows a call by ISIL for Muslims to kill Westerners whose nations have joined a campaign to battle the group in Iraq and Syria.

The video, entitled “A Message with Blood to the French Government”, was posted on militant websites.

It begins with a clip of French president Francois Hollande before showing Gourdel on his knees with his hands behind his back, surrounded by four armed militants whose faces were covered.

One of the militants reads a speech in which he denounces the intervention of the “French criminal crusaders” against Muslims in Algeria, Mali and Iraq.

It came a day after Hollande vowed not to give in to the militants’ 24-hour deadline to end air raids in Iraq.

“As grave as this situation is, we will not give in to any blackmail, any pressure, any ultimatum, no matter how odious, how despicable,” he said on the sidelines of an official trip to New York.

France has ruled out joining military operations in Syria, where a US-led coalition began strikes against IS on Tuesday.

* Associated Press