France taking Qaeda threats 'seriously': Hollande

PARIS: President Francois Hollande said France was taking seriously a call by Al-Qaeda's north African wing for Muslims worldwide to launch attacks against the country's interests over its military operation in Mali.

"We are taking seriously the threat by AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb)," Hollande told reporters, adding that despite considerable losses inflicted on Islamists in Mali, "the terrorist threat has not disappeared."