PARIS - France's defense ministry said Friday it will declassify photographs and video footage taken during a failed attempt by French forces to rescue two hostages earlier this month in Niger.
A ministry official told The Associated Press that Defense Minister Alain Juppe decided to declassify the documents after a favorable ruling by a government body on secrecy and national defense Thursday.
Antoine de Leocour and Vincent Delory were kidnapped from a restaurant in Niger's capital Jan. 7. Their bodies were found a day later at the Niger-Mali border after a skirmish involving forces from France and Niger.
The Paris prosecutor's office requested the declassification as part of its investigation into the deaths.
French officials have said they believe the hostages were executed as rescuers moved in. The Paris prosecutor, Jean-Claude Marin, said last week that autopsies on the two hostages showed no sign that bullets used by French forces killed them. The autopsies so far have not been able to determine when they died, he said.
The al-Qaida offshoot in North Africa al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The group says one hostage died as a result of fire from French military aircraft. The militants say they killed the second Frenchman.
Associated press
