The French flag flies at half-mast above the Grand Palais in Paris September 26, 2014 to pay tribute to French mountain guide Herve Gourdel
The French flag flies at half-mast above the Grand Palais in Paris September 26, 2014 to pay tribute to French mountain guide Herve Gourdel who was beheaded by an Algerian Islamist group. In memory of French mountain guide Gourdel, the government said flags would be kept at half-mast for three days. Minutes of silence and vigils were held across the country. REUTERS/John Schults

Islamist militants beheaded French tourist Hervé Gourdel in September. The Algerian army killed three of those militants responsible for the beheading on Tuesday, Dec 23.

Algeria managed to kill those militants, including Abdelmalek Gouri, the leader of Jund al-Khalifa fi Ard al-Jazayer (the Soldiers of the Caliphate in Algeria). The extremist group, according to France24, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Gouri's body was identified after the operation which had eliminated three terrorists in the town of Isser, according to the army statement. The army confirmed on Saturday that the three militants had been killed in a mountainous area near Sidi Daoud. It was also said that one of the militants was a "dangerous criminal" who had been wanted for nearly 20 years. A large quantity of firearms and explosives was seized during the operation. The Ministry of Defense of Algeria also confirmed the late night operation which had been carried out near the city of Boumerdes, 40 kms east of Algiers.

According to Algerian Justice Minister Tayeb Louh's statement on Dec 11, Algerian soldiers killed two Jund al-Khilafa members who had been involved in the beheading of Gourdel. Jund al-Khalifa has reportedly sworn allegiance to the Islamic State, while claiming the responsibility for the beheading of the French tourist. The group said that the murder had been carried out in retaliation for France's involvement in the U.S.-led operation in the Middle East. Gourdel was a 55-year-old hiker who had been kidnapped in September and then beheaded.

Jund al-Khalifa earlier split from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the North African branch of al-Qaeda. The group, which had hardly been known earlier, declared in September that it was working with the Islamic State. Gouri said during that time that the group decided to split with AQIM as the North African group had "deviated from the true path." Reports suggested that the Algerian army almost caught Gouri about a month ago after tracking him for a while. "This time the intelligence services had information that he was coming to visit his parents, so they set an ambush," Wall Street Journal quoted an officer.

Algeria is a Sunni Islam country in the Maghreb region of North Africa.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au