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 Officials said on Monday that one of the men shown herding
prisoners to their execution was Maxime Hauchard, a Frenchman Muslim
convert who left for Syria in 2013. Further analysis suggested
another French citizen also took part in the video.
"It seems that there is a second Frenchman," Le Foll told BFM TV.
"We are checking his identity," he said declining to confirm a name
circulating in French media.
An official at the Paris prosecutors' office, which is leading the
investigation, said there were "strong indications" that the second
man was a 22-year-old from the Parisian suburbs.
Thousands of Western volunteers have joined Islamic State, which is
waging a bloody war in both Syria and Iraq. More than 1,130 French
citizens are involved in jihadi cells linked to the two countries,
of which 376 nationals, are in the region.
According to the prosecutor's office, the second French suspect was
also a Muslim convert, who traveled to Syria in Aug. 2013 and was
known to intelligence services.
The 15-minute video posted online shows the decapitations of 18 men
who Islamic State said were pilots and officers loyal to Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad, as well as the severed head of U.S. aid
worker Peter Kassig.
France is part of a coalition carrying out air strikes on Islamic
State and earlier this year toughened anti-terrorism laws to stop
citizens going to Syria and prevent young Muslims becoming
radicalized.
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A report published by the CPDSI, an institute created specifically
to study radicalization linked to Islam in French society, showed on
Tuesday that the majority of those that had turned to radical Islam
were from middle class families, originally atheist and under 21.
Sebastien Pietrasanta, a lawmaker involved in finalizing the new
anti-terrorism legislation, told Reuters that only 50 percent of the
1,130 linked to IS cells were originally known to intelligence
services.
"(Hauchard) is the perfect example of the phenomenon we're facing: a
small provincial village, a well integrated family with jobs,
radicalized on the internet at a very young age, converts and
leaves," he said.
"It illustrates the diversity of the profile and the
self-radicalization on the internet."
(Reporting By John Irish and Chine Labbe; Editing by Mark John and
Crispian Balmer)
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