French authorities on Monday identified a French national among the ranks of Islamic State militants in a video of thr beheading of U.S. aid worker Peter Kassig in the fifth such killing of a Western hostage that also saw the brutal murder of 18 men alleges to have been members of the Syrian military.

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Analysis of the footage suggested that French national Maxime Hauchard, 22, was among the militants leading captives to the execution site, France's Interior Minister said, citing investigations carried out by security service DGSI.

Further analysis of the footage is still being carried out to determine whether other French nationals are involved although Paris prosecutor Frederick Mollins said it was too early to tell, Reuters reported.

Hauchard, an Islam convert, had already been under government scrutiny following a probe last year that alleged he had colluded to perform terrorist acts, a charge commonly held against citizens with known links to Islamist militants.

According to Mollins, the French-Muslim had attended an Islamic convention in Mauritania in 2012 but had been let down after finding the conference was not radical enough for his taste, NBC News relayed.

In July, Hauchard told media he joined ranks with the Islamic State so he could become a martyr. He also took part of the credit for the militant group's siege of Iraq's Mosul.

France is part of the U.S.-led coalition carrying out air strikes against the Islamic State. Government authorities have bolstered anti-terrorism laws to prevent citizens from traveling to Syria and joining the fighting.

So far, previous videos of the beheadings of two Americans and two Britons released by the Islamic State feature "Jihadi John," a masked militant dressed all in black with an English accent.

The latest video, however, showed unmasked men alongside Jihadi John and another militant whom the Daily Mail said appeared to have been British med student Nasser Muthana.

Shortly after the video's release, Muthana's father, Ahmed, told media one of the jihadists looked like his son but later changed tack, firmly stating the opposite.

While Ahmed admitted he has not seen his son since late last year, he was adamant that the man in the video was not his son.

"The nose is different," he said.

TagsMaxime Hauchard, French militant, war on terror, Peter Kassig, Jihadi John, Nasser Muthana