Al-Shabab militants in Somalia say they will kill French intelligence agent Denis Allex, who France said had already died during a failed rescue.

They said France bore responsibility for his death, as well as for two French commandos killed during Friday night’s raid in the town of Bulo Marer.

French officials said on Saturday they believed Mr Allex had been killed by his captors during the operation, but al-Shabab said he had not been there.

No proof of death has been made public.

Al-Shabab has posted an image of a dead commando, but not of Mr Allex, the codename of the hostage who has been held for more than three years.

In a Twitter statement, al-Shabab said: “With the rescue attempt, France has voluntarily signed Allex’s death warrant.”

The French chief of defence staff told French radio that he believed Mr Allex was already dead and accused al-Shabab of “media manipulation”.

France says 17 militants were killed in Friday’s raid by French commandos. Somali witnesses say several civilians also died in the fighting.

The French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said France had acted because of what he called al-Shabab’s “unreasonable demands”.

Source:- BBC News

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