AQIM has released pictures of Philippe Verdon (right) with fellow captive Serge Lazarevic. (AFP) AL ARABIYA WITH AGENCIES - French hostage, Philippe Verdon, has been beheaded by al-Qaeda’s wing in north Africa in retaliation for France’s intervention in Mali, Mauritania’s ANI news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a spokesman for the group. Verdon, a French geologist captured in the northern Mali town of Hombori in November 2011, was beheaded by al-Qaeda on March 10, the group said. An al-Qaeda commander reportedly called ANI, which has close links to Islamist militants, saying Verdon was killed “in response to the French military intervention in the north of Mali,” ANI reported. The death, if proved true, would be a worrying development for Paris, which still has some 14 hostages held in West Africa, including seven in the Sahel by AQIM and its affiliates. French President Francois Hollande in part justified military action in Mali to preve...