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Algeria Says It Killed Leader of ISIS-Linked Group Behind French Tourist's Beheading

Algeria says its special forces have killed the leader of an ISIS-linked militant group responsible for beheading a Western tourist in September.
Image: A captive Frenchman appeals to French President Francois Hollande to help free him.
In this still image from video published on the Internet on Monday, Sept. 22, 2014, by a group calling itself Jund al-Khilafah, or Soldiers of the Caliphate, a captive Frenchman appeals to French President Francois Hollande to help free him. The Frenchman, whom the ministry described as a 55-year-old mountain guide, said he was taken hostage by the group on Sunday and reiterated its demands that the French military end its airstrikes in Iraq. The group said it was answering a call by Islamic State group spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani to attack Americans and Europeans.AP

ALGIERS - Algerian special forces killed the leader of an ISIS-linked militant group responsible for kidnapping and beheading a Western tourist in September, Algeria's ministry of defense said Tuesday. It said in a statement that Abdelmalek Gouri, also known as Khalid Abu Suleiman, was killed in an ambush near Boumerdes, 30 miles east of Algiers. He was a veteran of Algeria's 1990s Islamist conflict and leader of the Caliphate Soldiers group, which declared its allegiance to ISIS fighters in September.

Caliphate Soldiers kidnapped French tourist Herve Gourdel when he was planning a hiking trip in the mountainous region east of the capital. Militants later showed a video of his beheading, saying they killed him to punish France for its military actions in Iraq. "This is a blow to [ISIS] in Algeria, the small group has only been in existence for a couple of months," said Algerian security analyst Anis Rahmani. "Killing its chief will affect the morale of the militants."

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- Reuters