Second Frenchman identified in ISIL execution video

The video which showed the execution of US citizen Peter Kassig and 18 Syrian prisoners sparked global uproar after its release on Sunday by ISIL.

An image grab taken from a propaganda video released on November 16, 2014 by Al Furqan media allegedly shows Mickael Dos Santos, a militant believed to be French citizen and member of the ISIL group, Show more

PARIS // A second Frenchman was identified on Wednesday after appearing unmasked in a grisly execution video among ISIL militants, many of whom are believed to be Western fighters.

Several European countries are probing the possible involvement of their nationals in the execution of 18 Syrian prisoners and kidnapped US aid worker Peter Kassig.

The video sparked global horror after its release Sunday by ISIL that has carried out widespread atrocities since seizing control of large parts of Iraq and Syria.

One foreigner, 22-year-old Maxime Hauchard from Normandy in northern France, was quickly identified by French prosecutors.

He is one of several young French nationals from a middle class, atheist or Catholic background to have converted to radical Islam and gone to fight in Syria, making a profile of potential Islamist militants nearly impossible to pin down, experts say.

A source close to the French investigation identified a second national as a 22-year-old from an eastern Paris suburb who goes by the name of Abu Othman.

He is believed to have left for Syria in the autumn of 2013, and became known to investigators shortly afterwards during a probe into a network channelling militants into Syria.

The source said Mr Othman had a very worrying profile, due to shocking images posted by him on social networks.

In July, Mr Hauchard said in an interview with French television he had decided to join ISIL after watching videos online.

“The personal objective of everyone here is (to become a) shahid (martyr). That is the greatest reward,” he said.

Thousands of foreign fighters have flocked to join ISIL in Iraq and Syria, and experts say they are often among the most violent and brutal of the militants.

A British-accented militant nicknamed “Jihadi John” has been at the centre of previous ISIL beheading videos and appeared again in Sunday’s recording claiming Kassig’s killing.

The video also showed the Syrian men kneeling on the ground each before a separate executioner, whose faces were uncovered.

* Agence France-Presse