Frenchmen killed in failed rescue

Paris, 10 Jan – (ANA) - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has said the two Frenchmen killed in Niger were shot dead in cold blood by their captors during a failed rescue.

He also said he was "almost certain" the pair, Antoine de Leocour and Vincent Delory, were the victims of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim).

The men's bodies were found after the operation on the Niger-Mali border.

France has defended the action, arguing that doing nothing would have signalled that France does not fight terrorism.

Defence Minister Alain Juppe has flown to Niger to speak to the authorities about the situation and to meet some of the French community. (ANA)

FA/ANA/10 January 2011-----