Denis Allex, a French intelligence officer who had been held hostage in Somalia since 2009, was killed in a rescue attempt gone awry, the French Defense Ministry said Saturday. The intelligence agency’s team had attempted an overnight helicopter mission to retriever Allex, but we met with “violent combat” instead. The incident falls on the same day French President Francois Hollande ordered air strikes against Islami militants in Mali—two missions which are reportedly unrelated. The Defense Ministry said Allex and at least one other soldier were killed in the fighting and another gone missing. The insurgents claim Allex is alive and being held in Somalia.
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