Somali militants 'have executed' French hostage
Denis Allex
Somali militants linked to al Qaeda said today they had executed a French agent who French armed forces had tried to rescue at the weekend.
The al Shabaab rebel group said on its Twitter account that Denis Allex, held hostage since 2009, was killed at 16:30 GMT yesterday.
"Let Muslims enjoy his execution and the French cry," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's spokesman for military operations, told Reuters by telephone.
The militants said yesterday the decision to kill Allex was unanimous and followed three years of what it called exhaustive attempts at negotiation.
France has consistently said it believed Allex was killed in Saturday's failed rescue mission and have accused the militants of manipulating the media with their latest statements.
Two French commandos were killed in the failed raid which coincided with the launch of French air strikes against Islamist militants in the West African country of Mali.
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Simon Ciantar
Jan 17th, 10:47
Before poverty and ignorance are eliminated in the Arab world , extremists will continue to spread their domain in third world countries. However religous indoctrination coupled with western interference is also giving rise to a fundamentalist movement in Europe , which needs to be addressed now before its too late.
Pippo de Marco
Jan 17th, 11:31
Yet more deaths due to religion. - As supposedly sophisticated Westerners we quite rightly consider such acts as primitive and barbaric, yet we have plenty of our own everyday fundamentalists who still put religion before fact, or even common sense and who attribute anything they cannot understand or explain as 'acts of God'
How little we have learned in the last two millennia.
Anthony Galea
Jan 17th, 13:17
So are you saying that religion is a pre-requisite to murder? Because if you said that, you just slapped billions in the face :)
Bill Khan
Jan 17th, 17:20
@ Pippo de Marco
Nothing to do with religion and all to do with controling the most important horn of Africa by the established powers. To achieve such goals there are always going to be unfortunate casualties. With the Somalians it is going to be doubly hard.
Pippo de Marco
Jan 17th, 18:38
@ Bill Khan.
I agree with some of what you say, but "Let Muslims enjoy this execution" sounds pretty religious to me.
Malicia Dabrowicz
Jan 17th, 09:47
And do we really wonder why civilians run away from Somalia and prefer to cross the sea in a rickety boats? This is why we have immigration, legal or illegal and it wont stop unless people can live peacefully in their own land....
LOUIS JOSEPH BORG
Jan 17th, 10:42
somalia has been a no go zone for years and people that go to somalia take high risks.western people have been kidnapped many times.
Luke Duncan
Jan 17th, 13:48
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, that is when the will know peace
Charles Grixti
Jan 17th, 17:33
Then Malicia, why do they go back to fight Jihad once they are safe in a Western country, given shelter and money from the taxpayers, as is happening in Canada, yet they clamour for Sharia in Canada and go back to joint the Jihadists? No, this is not a matter of economics, all about a murderous fanatical cult. There are no civilians, since all are bound to do their duty, ouvert or covert.
Please choose the reason of your report below: