Niamey, Niger (CNN) -- Two French citizens abducted at a restaurant in the Niger capital have been killed, CNN affiliate France 2 reported Saturday, citing the French Defense Ministry.
The two were seized by masked gunmen who burst into Le Toulousain, a restaurant owned by a French citizen, in Niamey on Friday night. A witness said the bar was crowded and many people did not realize what was going on at first.
No other details, including the identities of the two who were slain, were immediately available.
Niger's Voice of Sahel radio reported severe clashes between Niger army forces and the kidnappers early Saturday near the town of Ouallam, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of Niamey, the capital, and not far from the Mali border.
It was also not clear who the abductors were, but the militant al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the abduction of five French citizens, missing since last September.
The group's leader, Abu Musab Abdul-Wadud, has warned France that if it does not withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, more French nationals would be endangered. CNN
