Hollande Confirms 2 Frenchmen in ’ISIL’ Video

Local Editor

French President Francois Hollande confirmed on Wednesday that two Frenchmen had been identified as suspects in a so-called "Daesh" ["ISIL"] video showing the beheading of Syrian prisoners.

"All we can say for now is that there were two French people," Hollande told a press conference in Canberra alongside Australian leader Tony Abbott.

"One has been categorically identified and the other one is in the process of being identified," he said.

French prosecutors have confirmed the first was 22-year-old Maxime Hauchard from Normandy in northern France, but the identity of what they said was a possible second Frenchman was not given.

Hollande said it was not clear exactly what role the men played in the beheadings and that "the judicial system will have to establish this".

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in Paris that Hauchard left for Syria "in August 2013 after a stay in Mauritania in 2012", after reportedly becoming radicalized online.
Around 1,000 French nationals are thought to have taken part in the conflict in Syria and Iraq, with 375 currently there, the government has said.

Like the United States, Britain and other nations, authorities in France are increasingly worried about the number of citizens travelling to fight in Iraq and Syria who could potentially come back and stage attacks in their home country.

Australia faces a similar scenario to France with at least 71 Australians currently fighting in Iraq or Syria.

Abbott meanwhile said that the subject was discussed during their bilateral talks and that more collaboration is needed, "particularly when it comes to intelligence sharing on the question of foreign [militants]".

The "Daesh" extremist group released a propaganda video on Sunday featuring the killing of 18 Syrian prisoners and a US aid worker.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team