20110110
reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Monday he was almost certain that al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was behind the abduction of two Frenchmen killed in Niger at the weekend.

The pair were found dead, apparently killed by their kidnappers on Saturday, after French special forces joined a failed attempt to rescue them in the African state.

"We are almost certain that it was AQIM," Fillon told journalists. AQIM is al Qaeda's North African affiliate.

The two victims were abducted from a bar, bringing to eight the number of French people snatched in Niger since April. They were the first to be seized in the capital Niamey, far from the lawless desert where Islamist militants, rebels and bandits all operate.

Niger Foreign Minister Toure Aminata Djibrilla Maiga told reporters in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital, that Niger would not relent in combating terrorism.

"Niger is determined to fight terrorism in all of its forms. The army is engaged and will continue their combat against terrorism with the full support of the population," Maiga said.

French Defence Minister Alain Juppe travelled to Niamey on Monday to meet Niger authorities and the French community. France has around 1,550 nationals in Niger.

A high-ranking Nigerien military official told Reuters the two hostages had probably been executed before French and Niger forces clashed with the kidnappers, as their bodies were found some distance away.

"They were coldly eliminated, according to the initial information that I have," Fillon said. "Of course the investigation will be deepened and the results will be made known to the families."

Asked about two French journalists taken captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan a year ago, Fillon said: "I think there can only be a favourable outcome there."