Algerian Militants Behead French Hostage

French President Francois Hollande confirmed Wednesday the killing of French national Herve Gourdel who was held hostage by Algerian militants.

Gourdel was kidnapped on Sunday by the militant group which calls itself Jund al Khilafah, or Soldiers of the Caliphate. The group claims allegiance to the Islamic State.

"Our compatriot has been murdered cruelly and in a cowardly way by a terrorist group," Hollande said on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York. "Herve Gourdel was killed because he was French."

"My determination is total and this aggression only strengthens it," he said. "France will continue to fight terrorists everywhere. The operations against Islamic State will continue. The military air strikes will continue as long as necessary," he said, reports Reuters.

The militants posted the video Wednesday, titled "A Message of blood for the French government", which showed the execution of Gourdel.

In the video, masked militants were seen standing near a kneeling Gourdel. They then vowed their allegiance to Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.  The militants then  pushed Gourdel to the ground and executed him,  reports the Associated Press.

Gourdel was taken hostage by the militants while hiking in the mountainous region of Kabylie near Algiers. An avid photographer, Gourdel, worked as a mountain guide at the Mercantour National Park north of Nice.

He had also organized trekking expeditions through the Atlas Mountains of Morocco for many years, reports BBC citing AFP.

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, expressed deep sorrow at the killing of Gourdel. "Today a war was declared on France," he said. "We've been turning a blind eye to what's happening in our back yards. And this is where it has led us," he said, reports BBC.