Mali frees al Qaeda prisoners in hostage swap

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali authorities have released four Islamist prisoners in an apparent deal with al Qaeda's north African wing to save a French hostage, according to a Mali newspaper report.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had said France and Mali would be "responsible" for the life of Pierre Camatte, who was kidnapped in Mali in November, unless Bamako released the Islamist prisoners by February 20.

A report in Mali's Independant newspaper Friday said a court in Bamako had sentenced the four prisoners -- who were captured by security forces in April -- Thursday morning only to the time they had already served, tantamount to a release.

Government officials were not immediately available to comment Saturday morning.

AQIM has also claimed responsibility for the abduction of three Spaniards and an Italian couple. There was no immediate word Saturday on the fate of Camatte or other hostages.

The group emerged in 2007 from the Salafist GSPC movement which battled Algerian security forces during the 1990s.

Last year it killed a British hostage and analysts say the group is interested as much in securing multi-million dollar ransom payments as it is in political goals.

AQIM has waged a campaign of suicide bombings and ambushes in Algeria but in the past few years has shifted a large part of its activities south to the Sahara desert.

Some western governments believe that al Qaeda-linked fighters and drug smugglers -- using the politically volatile and sparsely populated Sahara as a safe haven -- are forging ties which could make both groups a more potent threat.

The United States and European nations are seeking to improve the capacity of the Sahara-region states to combat the threat but disputes among regional governments have hampered efforts to mount a coordinated response.