Sarkozy condemns killing of hostage Michel Germaneau

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has confirmed the death of a French hostage killed by suspected al-Qaeda militants in north-west Africa.

The group said in a recording broadcast on Al Jazeera television that the murder of the 78-year-old aid worker was in revenge for the deaths of six of its members during a raid by French and Mauritanian troops to free him.

From Paris Christian Fraser reports.