French bridegroom and best man seized and killed in Niger

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Source: The Guardian

Two young Frenchmen who died less than 24 hours after being kidnapped in Niger were probably killed by their captors, French military officials said today.

The bodies of the men, one an aid worker and the other his childhood friend, were found in the desert near the west African country's border with Mali after an unsuccessful rescue operation. They were believed to have been snatched by al-Qaida's north African operation.

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, condemned the killings as a "cowardly and barbaric act" but added they would strengthen France's resolve to "fight terrorist barbarism without respite".

Antoine de Léocour, 25, had been living in Niger for two years and was planning to marry his fiancee, a local woman called Rakia, on Saturday. His friend Vincent Delory, 25, a computer engineer, had flown to the Niger capital, Niamey, to be best man at the wedding. He arrived on Friday afternoon, only a few hours before he was kidnapped.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/09/french-bridegroom-killed-wedding-niger