Al Qaeda video shows 3 men purportedly confessing to spying, one shot dead

Picture for representation only. Photo: AP

Nouakchott: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released a video on Monday showing three men purportedly confessing to spying for the Mauritanian and French military and then one being taken out of a pick-up truck in the desert and shot in the head.

The 22-minute video, entitled "The Traitors" and released by AQIM`s Al Andalus Media Productions, shows the men saying they had been spying in northern Mali since at least 2006. 

Along with two other militant groups, AQIM, driven out of northern Mali by French troops in 2013, claimed responsibility for an attack on a luxury hotel in Bamako on Nov. 20, in which 20 people were killed. 

A Mauritanian military spokesman declined to comment on the video and French forces did not respond to a request for comment.

The video did not state the men`s nationalities, where they were held nor for how long.

It was posted on YouTube but later removed by the video sharing site.

"Whoever is found guilty of treason (should) repent before it`s too late," the narration in the video says in Arabic.