Nigeria Islamists Release Video of French Hostage

Nigerian Islamist group Ansaru on Friday released a video of a French national kidnapped in December, the SITE jihadi tracking website said.

In the video posted online, 63-year-old Francis Collomp, who was kidnapped in northern Nigeria on December 19, reads a statement with an unidentified person holding a weapon in the background.

Collomp, who appears wearing a white t-shirt and is bearded, identifies himself as an engineer with the French firm Vergnet, who was "kidnapped in Rimi in Katsina state on 19 December 2012 till today, 25 September 2013."

Parts of his short statement are not clear, but he can be heard calling for his "safe release."

In the latter half of the three-minute video, the camera focuses on an Arabic statement that addresses "the government(s) of France and Nigeria," according to the translation provided by SITE.

While there is no direct threat of further attacks or on Collomp's life, the statement vows to treat "treachery and treason" by the French or Nigerian governments with "reciprocity."

Ansaru is considered by some to be a breakaway faction of Boko Haram, Nigeria's more prominent Islamist group which has waged a deadly insurgency since 2009.

Ansaru also claimed the kidnapping of seven foreign nationals in northern Bauchi state in February.

A video later posted online appeared to show some of the hostages being killed.