Somali militants linked to al Qaeda have sentenced a French agent to death several days after an attempt by French armed forces to rescue him failed, the al Shabaab rebel group said this morning.

"Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen has reached a unanimous decision to execute the French intelligence officer, Denis Allex," the militants said in an emailed statement that was also posted on the group's official Twitter handle.

France said on Saturday it believed Allex, held hostage by al Shabaab since 2009, had been killed in the rescue attempt.

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