ALGIERS, Algeria – Algeria’s Ministry of Defence says the man behind the kidnapping and beheading of a French hiker in September has been killed in a military operation.
The statement says Abdelmalek Gouri was killed together with two associates late Monday near the city of Boumerdes, east of the capital.
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Two other militants were killed Tuesday morning nearby, added the statement.
A group calling itself Jund al-Khilafah and pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group in Syria kidnapped French hiker Herve Gourdel in the Djurdjura mountains.
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Gourdel was beheaded on video a few days later when demands for France to end airstrikes were not met.
The Algerian army carried out a massive operation to find the group behind the kidnapping and said two other members have been killed in past months.
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