ISIS-linked
militants in Algeria have beheaded a French hostage captured at the
weekend - having earlier made threats to kill him if France did not stop
bombing targets in Iraq.
Herve
Gourdel, 55, was captured by the Islamist group Jund al-Khilifa while
hiking in the Djurdjura National Park on Sunday - just one day after he
arrived in Algeria for a 10-day walking holiday.
A
video featuring Mr Gourdel was released yesterday in which the
militants threatened to kill the professional mountaineering guide
within hours unless France stopped bombing ISIS targets in Iraq by the
end of the day.
The
sickening four minute 46 second video of Mr Gourdel's murder - titled
'A Message in Blood for the French Government' - was released exactly 30
minutes after Barack Obama gave a speech vowing to destroy ISIS and its
affiliates to the UN General Assembly.
In
his speech President Obama urged the world to come together to tackle
the threat posed by ISIS and 'dismantle this network of death'. The
address ended at 10.38am New York time, with the existence of Mr
Gourdel's murder video revealed just 30 minutes later, at 11.09am.
'Network of death': Mr Gourdel's
murder came just 30 minutes after U.S. President Barack Obama gave a
speech to the UN General Assembly, urging the world to unite to tackle
the threat posed by ISIS and its affiliates
This
afternoon the terrorism watchdog SITE Intelligence Group distributed a
video by Jund al-Khilafah announcing Mr Gourdel's death.
Images
of the execution emerged on social media a short time later, showing
the mountaineering guide wearing a purple T-shirt surrounded by masked
men, with his hands bound behind his back.
The
group threatened to kill their hostage by the end of the day unless
France ceased its air strikes in Iraq, where ISIS terrorists control
vast swaths of territory under the guise of a 'caliphate'.
The Algerian murderers referred to their group as Jund al-Khilifa - which means 'caliphate soldiers.'
The
footage prompted some 1,500 Algerian forces to comb through the
restive, mountainous Tizi Ouzou region in the east of Algeria -
desperately trying to save Mr Gourdel before it was too late.
Tragic: Herve Gourdel, 55, was
captured by the Islamist group Jund al-Khilifa while hiking in the
Djurdjura National Park on Sunday - just one day after he arrived in
Algeria for a walking holiday
Threats: A video featuring Mr Gourdel
was released yesterday in which the militants threatened to kill the
Frenchman unless France stops bombing ISIS targets in Iraq
Mr Gourdel's elderly parents spoke publicly about their 'horrific ordeal' shortly before he was killed.
His
mother, who is in her 80s and living in Nice, said that the passionate
photographer arrived in Algeria last Saturday and was about to take part
10 days of walking.
Mrs
Gourdel, who did not give her first name, said: 'Everything was fine,
he said he had began a two-day hike and that it might be a difficult
one.'
Mr
Gourdel's murder came just 30 minutes after Obama addressed efforts to
combat ISIS and its affiliates at a meeting of the UN General Assembly.
The
U.S. president said ISIS understood only 'the language of force' and
called on those who have joined up to fight with the group to 'leave the
battlefield while they can'.
Mr
Obama recounted IS atrocities against women and religious minorities in
areas of Iraq and Syria which the group controls, and described the
beheading of hostages including British aid worker David Haines as 'the
most horrific crimes imaginable'.
The
US president said: 'No God condones this terror. No grievance justifies
these actions. There can be no reasoning - no negotiation - with this
brand of evil.'
Experienced:
Mr Gourdel was a professional mountaineering guide and amateur
photographer. Although he enjoyed spending time in remote locations
around the world, he was always extremely careful, friends said
Hunt: Yesterday's warning video
prompted some 1,500 Algerian forces to comb through the restive, Tizi
Ouzou region in the east of Algeria - desperately trying to save Mr
Gourdel before it was too late
Dangerous location: Mr Gourdel was
seized on Saturday while hiking in the heart of Algeria's Djurdjura
National Park (pictured). The mountains have been a sanctuary for
radical Islamists loyal to Al Qaeda since the 1990s
'WE'VE KILLED WORLD'S MOST WANTED TERRORIST': AMERICAN OFFICIALS BELIEVE MUHSIN AL-FADHLI DIED IN SYRIAN AIRSTRIKES
Airstrikes
in northern Syria killed the 'world's most wanted terrorist' before his
band of Islamist militants were able to carry out deadly 'toothpaste
tube bomb attacks' on the U.S. and Europe, American officials believe.
Muhsin
al-Fadhl, 33, was identified as the leader of the Al Qaeda-affiliated
Khorasan Group - a radical terror collective specializing in
intercepting Western jihadists on their arrival in Syria, and training
them to carry out deadly bomb attacks on targets in their home nations.
As
well as an American and Arab coalition hitting targets relating to ISIS
militants in Syria yesterday, the U.S. air force also independently
struck Khorasan as intelligence suggested the group were nearing 'the
execution phase' of a terror atrocity against a Western target that
could have rivalled 9/11.
Details
of the alleged death of al-Fadhl emerged this afternoon from a U.S.
military official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Despite
his relatively young age, the Kuwait-born militant was an Al Qaeda
veteran; joining the terror group as a teenager and becoming so close to
its leadership that he was among a select few with prior knowledge of
the 9/11 attacks in America, despite having only just turned 20 at the
time.
Mr Gourdel's death was eventually confirmed by terrorism watchdog SITE Intelligence Group this afternoon.
The
hunt for Mr Gourdel came a day after French President Francois Hollande
vowed not to give in to the jihadists' demands while on official trip
to New York.
'As
grave as this situation is, we will not give in to any blackmail, any
pressure, any ultimatum, no matter how odious, how despicable,' he said.
'What
is at stake here is our liberty, our security and sovereignty. No
terrorist group can influence the will, position or freedom of France,'
he added.
Mr
Gourdel, who lived in the southern French city of Nice, only arrived in
Algeria on Saturday and was seized the following day while hiking in
the heart of the Djurdjura National Park.
The area's dense forests, deep gorges and picturesque lakes were once a major draw for tourists.
However,
the mountains became a sanctuary for Islamists in the 1990s, who later
swore allegiance to Al Qaeda, and security forces have been unable to
dislodge them.
A
passionate photographer and mountaineer, Mr Gourdel liked going off the
beaten track, though he was always careful, his friends said.
'I
often bump into him in the mountains and he always goes to little-known
areas of the massif, never on the major routes where there are people,'
said Michel Ingigliardi, his friend of 30 years in
Saint-Martin-Vesubie, a village nestled deep in the French Alps outside
Nice.
Mr
Gourdel's local MP Eric Ciotti said he 'knew this great mountain
professional' extremely well, and paid tribute to his 'courage and
integrity'.
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK
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