Al Qaeda’s north African wing has reportedly claimed responsibility for the murder of two French journalists in northern Mali on Saturday.<br /><br />A news website in neighbouring Mauritania claims it received a statement in which militants said they killed the pair as a response to “crimes perpetrated by France and its UN, Malian and African allies”.<br /><br />Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, who worked for Radio France Internationale, were killed shortly after being abducted by armed men.<br /><br />Their deaths prompted tributes from fellow journalists in Mali where France launched a military operation in January that drove Islamist militants from towns in the north.
