TWO FRENCH SOLDIERS have been killed in a raid to free hostages in Burkina Faso in west Africa, according to the French presidency. 

According to AFP, one American, one Korean and two French hostages were freed in the operation. 

The military operation took place overnight in a bid to free the two French tourists, identified as Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas, who disappeared in the remote Pendjari National Park in nearby Benin on 1 May. 

The two French tourists were feared kidnapped in Benin – close to Burkina Faso – after they failed to return from a game drive in a wildlife reserve and their guide was later found dead.

The French tourists were last seen with their guide Wednesday when they went into the Pendjari National Park.

Two days later the body of an African man who had been fatally shot was found in the park. Authorities in Benin identified him as the French tourists’ guide.

With reporting from Associated Press and © AFP 2019