Algerian islamist group executes French hostage

The Algerian group Jund al-Khilafa (soldiers of the caliph, a group ) have followed up on their threat and on Wednesday decapitated their French hostage Hervé Gourdel (55). A video of the execution was posted on the internet. Gourdel, a mountain guide and father of two was on a holiday in Algeria. He was captured on Sunday by the group which is aligned with the Islamic State, while hitchhiking near the Djurdura mountain in the province of Tizi Ouzou (Kabylia). 
Jund al-Khilafa, which is led by Abdelmalek Gouri, alias Khaled Abou Souleimane, earlier gave France a 24 hour ultimatum to halt its aerial bombardments of the Islamic State.

The video titled '"Message de sang pour le gouvernement français" (bloody message for the French governement) was posted a few minutes after French Prime Minister Manuel Valls defended France's intervention in Iraq. The video started with images of the press conference during which president François 
Hollande announced that France would participate in attacks against the IS. After that it showed Gourdel, kneeling with his hand tied behind his back between  four armed men who were hiding their faces behind masks. One of them read a message in which he denounced the intervention of the French crusaders against the Muslims in Mali and Iraq''.