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| Frenchman in Isis beheading video had told TV of caliphate hopes | |
| (4 months later) | |
| Maxime Hauchard, the Frenchman identified by authorities as a jihadi involved in the beheadings of an American and Syrian captives, is a 22-year-old from Normandy who converted to Islam at 17. | Maxime Hauchard, the Frenchman identified by authorities as a jihadi involved in the beheadings of an American and Syrian captives, is a 22-year-old from Normandy who converted to Islam at 17. |
| Hauchard appeared in the Islamic State (Isis) video which on Sunday showed the killings of 18 Syrian captives and American aid worker Peter Kassig. In the video he is standing in a lineup of jihadis and is not masked. He was recognised by French writer and journalist David Thomson who tweeted a picture of him. Prosecutor François Molins confirmed his identity at a press conference on Monday afternoon. | Hauchard appeared in the Islamic State (Isis) video which on Sunday showed the killings of 18 Syrian captives and American aid worker Peter Kassig. In the video he is standing in a lineup of jihadis and is not masked. He was recognised by French writer and journalist David Thomson who tweeted a picture of him. Prosecutor François Molins confirmed his identity at a press conference on Monday afternoon. |
| Hauchard is from Le Bosc-Roger-en-Roumois, which has a population of 3,250. He took on the nom de guerre Abu Abdallah el-Faransi, reflecting his French citizenship, and has never sought to conceal his affiliation with Islamist fighters, posting photos on social media of himself carrying weapons. In July he gave an interview to BFMTV in which he described how he became interested in Islam via the internet and how he travelled to Syria in August last year to help create a caliphate. | Hauchard is from Le Bosc-Roger-en-Roumois, which has a population of 3,250. He took on the nom de guerre Abu Abdallah el-Faransi, reflecting his French citizenship, and has never sought to conceal his affiliation with Islamist fighters, posting photos on social media of himself carrying weapons. In July he gave an interview to BFMTV in which he described how he became interested in Islam via the internet and how he travelled to Syria in August last year to help create a caliphate. |
| Dressed in black, Hauchard described the month-long training in Syria as “not a holiday, but like a holiday”. He said there were more French nationals at the Isis headquarters in Raqqa, but the group there was mostly made up of Arabs, including Egyptians, Libyans, Tunisians, Moroccans and Saudis. | Dressed in black, Hauchard described the month-long training in Syria as “not a holiday, but like a holiday”. He said there were more French nationals at the Isis headquarters in Raqqa, but the group there was mostly made up of Arabs, including Egyptians, Libyans, Tunisians, Moroccans and Saudis. |
| In the interview, Hauchard said he had been deployed in Mosul, the northern Iraqi town overrun by Isis in June, and added that he was about to go on a more “spectacular” mission. He also said he expected to die. “My personal goal is martyrdom, obviously,” he said. | In the interview, Hauchard said he had been deployed in Mosul, the northern Iraqi town overrun by Isis in June, and added that he was about to go on a more “spectacular” mission. He also said he expected to die. “My personal goal is martyrdom, obviously,” he said. |
| He has been known to French intelligence services since 2011, and an arrest warrant was issued for him last month. | He has been known to French intelligence services since 2011, and an arrest warrant was issued for him last month. |
| His uncle, Pascal, said he was aware that his nephew had travelled to Syria but was puzzled as to his motives. “I don’t get this. My nephew would never chop off a head, it’s not possible. He wouldn’t hurt a fly,” he told BFMTV. A friend suggested Hauchard was a “weak and easily influenced” person who had become committed to radical Islam after watching online videos. | His uncle, Pascal, said he was aware that his nephew had travelled to Syria but was puzzled as to his motives. “I don’t get this. My nephew would never chop off a head, it’s not possible. He wouldn’t hurt a fly,” he told BFMTV. A friend suggested Hauchard was a “weak and easily influenced” person who had become committed to radical Islam after watching online videos. |
| French investigators say Hauchard received religious training in Mauritania in 2012, then went to Syria via the Turkish town of Gaziantep, posing as a humanitarian worker. | French investigators say Hauchard received religious training in Mauritania in 2012, then went to Syria via the Turkish town of Gaziantep, posing as a humanitarian worker. |