By John Irish and Laurent Prieur
PARIS/NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - France and Mauritania said on Friday they carried out a military operation against al Qaeda's North African wing, believed to be holding a 78-year-old French hostage in the desert Sahel region.
Mauritania said six Islamists were killed in the attack, but French officials said they had no word on the fate of Michel Germaneau, a retired engineer kidnapped on April 22 and held by al Qaeda's North African wing, AQIM.
The dawn raid took place on Thursday amid calls for increased cooperation to tackle Islamists but it appears to have angered Mali, which was not involved, and Spain, which also has hostages held by another al Qaeda faction in the region.
A French Defence Ministry statement said the army gave technical and logistical support to Mauritanian forces, in what it said was an operation to prevent an attack by AQIM against the mostly-desert West African state.
"The terrorist group targeted by the Mauritanian army is the one that executed a British hostage a year ago and has refused to give proof of life or engage in negotiations to release our compatriot Michel Germaneau," the French ministry said.
It did not say whether the hostage had been located or where the military operation took place. But it said Mauritania's action had "neutralised" the group.
Asked if France had any proof Germaneau was alive, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said: "We are working on it".
Mauritania's Interior Minister issued statement on Friday confirming that its forces had, with French assistance, launched a dawn raid on a group of fighters in Mali on Thursday.
Six Islamists were killed and a significant amount of explosives, ammunition and intelligence recovered, Interior Minister Mohamed Ould Boilil told reporters in Nouakchott.
French daily Liberation's well-informed defence blog said French special operations commandos took part in the operation and had been on a mission in Mauritania for several months.
Reuters Africa
