African branch of al-Qaeda claimed on Wednesday responsibility for killing two French journalists in Mali.

In a statement published online by Mauritanian news agency Sahara Medias, the co-called al-Qaeda the IslamFrench Journalist killed in Maliic Maghreb (AQIM) said the killings were "the minimum debt" owed by the French people and President Francois Hollande "in return for their new crusade".

Ghislaine Dupont, 57, and Claude Verlon, 55, were kidnapped and shot dead by what French officials called "terrorist groups" after interviewing a spokesman for Tuareg separatists in the flashpoint northeastern town of Kidal last Saturday.

"This operation was a response to crimes committed by France against Malians and the work of African and international forces against the Muslims of Azawad," AQIM said, using the name given by the Tuareg people to northern Mali.

The agency said the murders had been carried out by a unit led by Tuareg commander Abdelkrim Targui, who was close to Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, one of AQIM's main leaders in Mali who was killed fighting the French army in northern Mali in late February.