MOSCOW, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - Algerian jihadists with links to the violent Islamic State insurgency uploaded a video on Wednesday showing the beheading of a French national kidnapped in Algeria's region of Tizi Ozou, Agence France Presse reported.
Herve Gourdel, a 55-year-old French hiker from the city of Nice, was abducted Sunday during his stay in Algeria. A local jihadi group called Jund al-Khalifa, or "the soldiers of the caliph," took responsibility for the kidnapping by posting a video online that showed the Frenchman plead with President Francois Hollande to put an end to the military operation in Iraq.
The militants said they were going to kill Gourdel within 24 hours if France continued airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed the authenticity of the video and promised to take urgent measures to find the French citizen.
The abduction followed Francois Hollande's statement on Friday announcing the commencement of French Air Force strikes against IS targets.
Earlier on Wednesday, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Paris would continue air campaigns in northern Iraq.
The report of Herve Gourdel's beheading came in just hours after US President Barack Obama delivered a speech before the UN General Assembly on Wednesday calling for the world to stand united against the Islamic State threat.
