PARIS, July 27 (UPI) -- The French government pledged Tuesday to pump up its fight against al-Qaida in northern Africa after kidnappers killed a French hostage in the Sahel desert.
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, a northern Africa affiliate of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, claimed responsibility for killing of Michel Germaneau, 78, a French aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger, Radio France Internationale reported.
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb said Monday it executed Germaneau, who was kidnapped in April in the northern Niger desert near the Mali-Algeria border.
"The fight against terrorism continues and it is going to strengthen, particularly against (al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb)," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said.
On Monday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed Germaneau's death "will not go unpunished," saying the government authenticated the group's claim to have killed the man even though his body hasn't been recovered.
The organization said it killed Germaneau in retaliation for French and Mauritanian soldiers storming one of the group's camps in Mali and killed six members.
