A French Mountain Guide, Herve Gourdel, Dies at ISIS Hands. Rest in Peace.

The video is called "A Message of Blood for the French Government." It appeared online today, showing Algerian extremists allied with ISIS decapitating a French hostage as retaliation after France carried out airstrikes in Iraq. French President Francois Hollande condemned the killing of Herve Gourdel, a 55-year-old professional mountain guide born in Nice, and said France would continue its fight against the sunni militants of ISIS that have taken over large areas of northern Iraq and Syria. President Hollande said : "Herve Gourdel is dead because he is the representative of a people - ours - that defends human dignity against barbarity." Hollande was speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. "My determination is total and this attack only reinforces it. We will continue to fight terrorism everywhere." France started airstrikes in Iraq on Friday, the first country to join the US military campaign against ISIS fighters there. Killing a hostage is a new approach for Algerian terrorists, who have in the past made millions of dollars by ransoming hostages. France is known for paying ransoms, although in the past hostages have died at the hands of their captors. ~~~~~ In the video, members of a newly formed group calling itself Jund al-Khilifa, Soldiers of the Caliphate, that split away from al-Qaida's North Africa branch, stand over a kneeling Gourdel. They pledge their allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and say they are fighting his enemies. They add that they are following his instructions to attack the French. The video then shows the captive pushed to the ground and blindfolded before being beheaded. ~~~~~ France has long been seen as a special target for hostage-takers for several reasons : (1) the French military campaign against al-Qaida-linked militants in Mali; (2) the French involvement in the NATO force in Afghanistan; and, (3) French laws banning the Moslem face veil in public and banning Moslem headscarves in public buildings. Nearly 1,000 French radicals have joined or are trying to join the ISIS group in Syria and in Iraq - more than the number of fighters from any other Western country. This is a reflection of the fact that France has the largest Moslem population in Europe, estimated to be 7.5% of France's total population. French authorities are particularly concerned that they will return and stage attacks at home. The video resembled those showing the beheadings of two American journalists and a British aid worker in recent weeks, but instead of starting with clips of President Barack Obama speaking, it showed Hollande. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Wednesday after hearing about the video that France would not pay a ransom for Gourdel, who arrived in Algeria Saturday and was taken in the Djura Djura mountains of northern Algeria on Sunday during a hiking trip. His Algerian companions and guides were released. On his Facebook page Gourdel had expressed his excitement about his camping trip and said he was looking forward to being shown around for a change, instead of being the guide. The remote Djura Djura mountains, with their steep valleys and deep caves is also one of the last strongholds of Islamist extremists in northern Algeria. The Algerian government undertook a massive hunt for Gourdel, using helicopters and special forces to comb the region. Hollande has spoken with Gourdel's family and Gourdel's hometown in southern France is planning a vigil Thursday at the mountaineering office where he worked. Gourdel advertised his work on his professional website, saying that being a mountain guide enabled him to 'escape from office life.' He regularly led expeditions in places like Nepal and Jordan, and the Atlas mountains in Morocco. French media have reported that he was married with two grown up children, and parents in their 80s. ~~~~~ Dear readers, in the last month, ISIS has released videos showing the beheading of  British aid worker David Haines, and American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. A second British aid worker, Alan Henning, and two Germans are being held by an ISIS group that threatens to behead him. European Moslems are beginning to speak out against ISIS, notably in a social site program called "#notinmyname." The head of a leading French Moslem group, Dalil Boubakeur, said he was horrified by Gourdel's beheading, calling it "this barbaric crime," and condemning it "with the utmost energy." The group has called for imams to denounce ISIS practices. And Moslem country leaders have been saying at the UN General Assembly that the names "Islamic State" and its acronyms ISIS and ISIL, are not correct because ISIS is neither a state nor Islamic. The local Middle East name for the group is DAESCH and Middle East leaders prefer the use of this name. But, by whatever name it is known, ISIS has clearly made capturing and beheading Westerners a hallmark of its violent jihadist terrorism. And while airstrikes and coalition building are vital, it is also vital to remove this hallmark that both attracts young recruits and terrifies into submission local populations. Hunting down ISIS units that have carried out beheadings and meting out severe punishment for their barbarous acts, as well as rescuing hostages, should be priorities in this new war we are engaged in -- once again a job for Special Forces. And overarching these tasks, the world needs to be told about the real dangers of traveling in certain areas in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The day has past when tourists can wander the globe ignorant of fundamental information about where they are. A little information and some individual self-responsibility would go a long way toward reducing kidnappings and beheadings.