Al Qaeda's affiliate organization in North Africa has warned France that the release of five French hostages held in the Sahara desert depends on France's pulling its troops out of Afghanistan.
In an audio message, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb—a group of Islamic militants who pledged allegiance to al Qaeda in early 2007—also said the release had to be negotiated directly with al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a sign that the once-peripheral Maghreb group may be seeking to play a bigger role in global jihad.
The audio message was attributed to AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdel, also known as Abu Mossab Abdelouadoud, and broadcast late Thursday by Qatar-based news station al Jazeera. The five French nationals were kidnapped together with a Madagascan and a Togolese two months ago.
For more: Al Qaeda Lays Out Demands to France - WSJ.com
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