The video showed Gourdel kneeling with his arms tied behind his back. He is in front of a several men with weapons and masks.
Gourdel only spoke briefly, addressing his family, telling him how much he loves them, before one of the militants reads a speech about the denunciation of "French criminal crusaders" against Muslims in Algeria, Mali and Iraq, according to the Agence France-Presse.
After the militant's speech, another militant approached Gourdel with a knife, and the French hostage beheading takes place. However, in the video, the actual beheading is not shown but the screen goes to black. The video later resumes showing what appears to be the Gourdel's severed head resting on his body.
According to The Guardian, Laurent Gény, a friend of Gourdel's told Point magazine, "The irony is that for many years he trained mountain guides in Morocco. He was someone who was a profoundly good person, very human, who loved Maghreban culture."
The BBC reports that the extremist group "Jund al-Khilafa" only pledged allegiance to IS on Sept. 14 of this year. Until then, it had been known as part of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which grew out of an Algerian militant group. The group is reportedly now active across North and parts of West Africa.
In his speech, Hollande said the French hostage beheading only prompts France to take more action against Isis and continue to fight terrorism everywhere.
Hollande said, "The perpetrators of this odious crime must be punished."
According to the militants, the French hostage beheading is their response to Hollande's government action against Isis in Iraq. France reportedly launched its first air strikes against the group last Friday.
The Guardian points out that the release of the slaying could have been timed to coincide with Barack Obama's address to the General Assembly in New York yesterday. During the UN assembly, he reportedly urged the world to come together to defeat a jihadist "network of death" in Iraq and Syria.
According to multiple reports, the Islamic State which are based in Syria and Iraq regions, has beheaded three Western hostages since August. Two victims named James Foley and Steve Sotloff were U.S. journalists. The third hostage beheaded. David Haines, was a British aid worker.
Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, the group's spokesman, has insisted its followers to attack citizens from U.S., France and other countries joining forces against the extremists.
According to the BBC, the Islamic State has recently threatened the beheading of another British aid worker by the name of Alan Henning. Henning is a taxi driver from the UK and he was captured in Syria last year on December during an aid mission.
French hostage beheading will not be the last slaying seen by the world unless drastic action is taken against the extremists. On Sunday, the BBC said the Islamic State has warned that it would target Americans and other Western citizens, "especially the spiteful and filthy French".
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
