Hollande steps up France security over Mali and Somalia

French President Francois Hollande has ordered security stepped up around public buildings and transport because of military operations in Africa.

He was responding to the risk of Islamist attack after French forces attacked militants in Mali and Somalia.

A pilot was killed as air strikes were launched on a column of Malian rebels.

In Somalia, two French soldiers were "sacrificed" in a raid to free a French hostage, Mr Hollande said. The hostage was believed to have died.

BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says that although the French operation appears to have halted the rebel offensive, the logistics are complicated and the task of recapturing northern Mali remains a daunting one.