French forces swooped into Somalia for a rescue mission under the cover of darkness, leading to a fierce gun battle with militants who killed the hostage, a French intelligence commando, the French defense ministry said Saturday.
The raid Friday night also left a French soldier and 17 Islamist fighters dead, according to the French ministry. Another soldier went missing.
Hostage Denis Allex, a member of the DGSE, France's equivalent of the CIA, died at the hands of his captors, the defense ministry said in a statement.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also told reporters in Paris Saturday that "everything leads us to believe that Denis Allex was gunned down by his captors."
But the al-Shabaab militia, which is affiliated with al Qaeda, claimed that the hostage is unharmed and being held at a new location.
By: Brant
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