Militants threaten to kill captured French hostage

A 55-year-old Frenchman kidnapped by a splinter group from al Qaida's North African branch will be killed unless his homeland halts air strikes against the Islamic State group, his captors say.

In a video that appeared on social media, a masked member of a group calling itself Jund al-Khilafah, or Soldiers of the Caliphate, addressed the threat to President Francois Hollande and said the hostage would be killed unless the air strikes were halted within 24 hours.

The group said it was answering a call by Islamic State (IS) spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani to attack Americans and Europeans.

France's Foreign Ministry said the video was authentic and identified the hostage as mountain guide Herve Gourdel, 55.