ALGIERS, Algeria, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- French tourist Herve Gourdel, who was kidnapped on Sunday, has been beheaded by Islamic State-linked Algerian militants.
The four minute and 46 second video showing Gourdel's execution, entitled "A Message in Blood for the French Government," was released 30 minutes after U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, in which he condemned "The cancer of violent extremism."
Gourdel's execution followed a warning from the Islamist Jund al-Khilifa group on Tuesday that they would execute the Frenchman within hours if the French government did not stop its military bombardment of IS targets by day's end.
French President Francois Hollande confirmed Gourdel's death, calling his execution a "cruel and cowardly" act.
Gourdel was abducted Sunday while hiking in the Djurdjura National Park, a day after arriving in Algeria for a 10-day vacation.
