Serge Lazarevic, a Frenchman held hostage by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb since 2011, arrived back in France. Lazarevic was reportedly freed in exchange for the release of AQIM members Heiba Ag Acherif and Mohammed Ali Ag Wadossene; the French government did not disclose whether a ransom was paid. President Hollande thanked the presidents of Mali and Niger for their help in freeing Lazarevic, and said no more French hostages are being held anywhere. The mother of a teenage French boy who is now allegedly fighting for the Al Nusrah Front in Syria has sued the French government for failing to stop him from traveling to Syria last year.
