[Al Arabiya Latest] France's government vowed Tuesday to step up the fight against al-Qaeda in northern Africa after militants killed a French hostage in the Sahel desert region.
"The fight against terrorism continues and it is going to strengthen, particularly against AQMI," Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Europe 1 radio, using the acronym for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
The group, a northern Africa-based affiliate of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, claimed the killing of Michel Germaneau, a 78-year-old French aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger.
"France does not practice vengeance," Fillon said. "However we do have agreements with the governments in the region and in particular with the Mauritanian government and with the Malian government to hunt these terrorists and bring them to justice."
| Good luck and happy hunting, guys! |
AQIM declared it had killed Germaneau as revenge after French and Mauritanian soldiers stormed one of the group's camps in Mali and killed six militants. |