An image grab taken from a propaganda video released by Al-Furqan Media allegedly shows members of the Islamic State jihadist group, with whom is a jihadist believed to be French citizen Maxime Hauchard (right).
AFP
A second Frenchman was identified on Wednesday after appearing unmasked in a grisly execution video among Islamic State jihadists, 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 the IS Sunni Muslim extremist group 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 jihadists 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 jihadists into Syria.
The source said Othman had a very worrying profile, due to shocking images posted by him on social networks.
In July, Hauchard said in an interview with French television he had decided to join IS 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 IS in Iraq and Syria, and experts say they are often among the most violent and brutal of the jihadists.
A British-accented militant nicknamed "Jihadi John" has been at the centre of previous IS 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.
Other known foreign fighters are believed to have appeared in the video, including an Australian and a Dane.
A Belgian newspaper reported that one of the men featured in the video looked like Abdelmajid Gharmaoui, who is currently on trial in his absence in Belgium for membership of a jihadist group.
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. At least 36 have died.
French President Francois Hollande, on a visit to Australia, said the issue of foreign fighters and how they were being "brainwashed" was a major concern.
"They could be from any background, from any ethnic origin - but they can easily be brainwashed into becoming converts, and this is a very important matter," he said.
"We must be vigilant, and we must be strong."
