PARIS (Reuters) - A French man purported to have been kidnapped in Algeria on Sunday appeared in a video on Monday saying he had been kidnapped by an Algeria-based Islamic State splinter group the Caliphate Soldiers.
The man, who gives his name, age and date of birth, said he had arrived in Algeria on Sept. 20 and been taken on Sept. 21.
"I am in the hands of Jund al-Khilifa, an Algerian armed group. This armed group is asking me to ask you (President Francois Hollande) to not intervene in Iraq. They are holding me as a hostage and I ask you Mr President to do everything to get me out of this bad situation and I thank you."
A French foreign ministry spokesman could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the video.
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)