AFRICA NEWS - Algerian jihadists execute French hostage

<p>An Algerian Islamist group has beheaded a French hiker kidnapped in Algeria on Sunday. Militants calling themselves the Caliphate Soldiers released a video of Hervé Gourdel's execution. They have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group operating in Syria and Iraq. The Algerian extremists had demanded France pull out of airstrikes targeting IS fighters in Iraq. Paris refused and President François Hollande has called the murder of Gourdel "cruel and cowardly".</p><br />Produced by Georja Calvin-Smith and Célia Caracena<br /><br />Visit our website:<br />http://www.france24.com<br /><br />Like us on Facebook:<br />https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English<br /><br />Follow us on Twitter:<br />https://twitter.com/France24_en