LOC10:53
07:53 GMT
PARIS, Sept 23 (KUNA) -- French authorities on Tuesday confirmed authenticity of a video of French hostage Herve Gourdel, who was kidnapped two days ago in Algeria by a group pledging allegiance to Al-Qaeda and acting on behalf of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Gourdel, 55, a tourist, was kidnapped in the Tizi-Ouzou region of Algeria, an area where both militants and bandits operate.
The kidnappers are threatening to execute Gourdel if France does not withdraw its forces from operations in Iraq, where the French air force began strike missions last Friday against ISIL targets alongside US forces.
ISIL has called for the killing of US and other Coalition nationals who are fighting the group in Iraq, and now in Syria, and the extremists particularly singled out French nationals for targeting and killing.
"The threats made by this terrorist group attest one again to the extreme cruelty of Daash and those that claim to be with it," a Foreign Ministry statement said.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on national radio that terrorist groups would not be allowed "to bend" France's policies.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls said France could not take a step backwards in dealing with terrorist groups. (end)
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