France IDs second national in 'IS' video

Public prosecutors in France said on Wednesday that it had identified two citizens, both converts to Islam who left to fight in the Syrian civil war, in a propaganda video released by the "Islamic State" terror group. At least 17 Syrian prisoners and US aid worker Peter Kassig (pictured above) were executed in the video.

One of the men shown herding prisoners prior to their execution was identified as Maxime Hauchard on Monday, and the state prosecutor's office on Wednesday named 22-year-old Mickael Dos Santos as another French citizen in the film.

"In addition to Maxime Hauchard, precise and consistent clues have been collected during an investigation allowing us to identify the presence of a second Frenchman: Mickael Dos Santos," the prosecutors' statement said.

Catholic convert

The 22-year-old with Portuguese heritage was known to intelligence services but had no criminal record, prosecutors said. French newspaper Le Monde carried quotes from Dos Santos' grandmother and an ex-girlfriend, both of whom said they were aghast at the youngster's sudden conversion and departure for Syria last year.

"It's my grandson, I saw him on television, again and again; I recognized him straight away," Maria dos Santos said. "He was so kind, so sweet - they must have drugged him to make him become like this. He was Catholic, he went to bible classes, I don't know how they managed to turn his head." She went on to explain that Mickael left for Syria last summer without his relatives' knowledge, after refusing to join the family on their annual trip back to Portugal. Grandmother Maria, now 71, left Lisbon for France in her twenties.

Many European countries have struggled with radicalized Muslims, often converts, leaving to fight in Syria's civil war, not least France. French authorities estimate that around 1,000 nationals have taken part in the conflict, with some 375 currently in the country. Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Wednesday said that "close to 50" French citizens had been killed in the Syrian conflict.

"So we know the dangers and, sadly, we are not surprised to learn that French citizens or residents of France are found at the heart of these [terrorist] cells and taking part in this barbarity," Valls said.

Mirage jets bound for Jordan

Separately in Paris on Wednesday, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that France would deploy six more fighter jets to boost its role in the US-led military campaign against the Islamic State. Six Mirage jets would be sent to Jordanin December, Le Drian said, to complement the nine Rafale jets currently operating out of the more distant United Arab Emirates.

France was the first EU country to join the bombing campaign against "Islamic State" fighters, although its planes are not taking part in operations over Syria.

Kurdish forces in Iraq on Wednesday launched a new offensive targeting IS-controlled areas in Diyala and Kirkuk provinces, according to a spokesman for the peshmerga fighters, with support from international airstrikes and the Iraqi military.

msh/glb (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)