Peter Kassig Beheading Video Identifies At Least One French National [Report]
At least one French national was identified in the brutal video showing the beheading of American aid worker Peter Kassig. The terrorist group ISIS had threatened Kassig’s life in the last propaganda video showing another beheading of a westerner.
Prosecutor Francois Molins identified the 22-year-old French convert to radical Islam as Maxime Hauchard, who is one of at least three militants observed in the clip. The video shows not only the inhumane decapitation of Kassig, but also that of several Syrian soldiers wearing blue jumpers.
According to Molins, Hauchard has been followed by French authorities since he left for Syria in 2013, and there is suspicion that another Frenchman could also be among the fighters in the video, but it was too early to tell, the AP reported.
Even though ISIS recruits are mostly from the Middle East, the group is clearly making an effort to bring westerners into its ranks. French authorities got a good look at Hauchard, while he stood behind his victims as they knelt, prior to their execution.
The video of Peter Kassig’s beheading is different from those in which an extremist with a London accent was seen killing American hostages James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as British hostages David Haines and Alan Henning. Authorities also believe a Welsh man is seen standing next to Hauchard in the undated video posted on Sunday.
In an impassioned statement, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called on his country’s citizens to not be fooled by ISIS promises.
“I call solemnly and seriously on all our citizens, and notably our young people who are the primary target of the terrorist propaganda, to open your eyes to the terrible reality of the actions of Daesh (ISIS). These are criminals that are building a system of barbarity.”
Researcher Charlie Winter, of the Quilliam Foundation in London, explains what ISIS is trying to do with its recruiting tactics.
“It’s quite transparent that IS is trying to exaggerate its base of support. They are trying to show that Muslims from all over the world are protecting their Syrian brethren and their Iraqi brethren.”
The French man appearing in Peter Kassig’s beheading video gave an interview to BFM in July and claimed he helped capture the Iraqi city of Mosul. A father from Wales also revealed he thought he recognized his son on the graphic video.
The latest victim of the militant group ISIS was 26-years-old and was working to help the Syrian people through his own aid group.
“(Our son) lost his life as a result of his love for the Syrian people and his desire to ease their suffering,” the American hostage’s parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, said in a statement.
Kassig, the fifth man beheaded by ISIS this year, previously served in the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, a special operations unit, deployed to Iraq in 2007. Authorities believe that ISIS still holds at least two other hostages, who are at risk of following the same fate.
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