PARIS, July 28 (UPI) -- French hostage Michel Germaneau may have been killed by al-Qaida captors before a rescue attempt last week, French officials said.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon declared war Tuesday against al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, the North African franchise of al-Qaida, after the group admitted to killing Germaneau, 78.
French and Mauritian troops launched a raid last week on a suspected al-Qaida camp in Mali to free the French hostage. Fillon said French authorities believed Germaneau was killed before the raid, The New York Times reports.
AQIM said July 11 it would execute the man within 15 days.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy told the French public Monday that the death of Germaneau would "not go unpunished."
French officials said they haven't recovered the Germaneau's body. A man identifying himself as AQIM leader Abu Musab Adbul-Wadud said Germaneau was killed in response to French operations against the group.
AQIM formed as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, dedicated to overthrowing the Algerian government. It joined forces with al-Qaida in 2004 and has spread its reach across North and West Africa.
