NEW DELHI // French president Francois Hollande on Monday vowed not to let threats by ISIL deter France from its fight against terrorism.
Responding to the video released by ISIL on Sunday purporting to show nine militants involved in last November’s Paris attacks, Mr Hollande said, “Nothing will deter us, no threat will make France waver in the fight against terrorism.
“These images only serve to discredit the perpetrators of this crime,” he said from New Delhi where he is visiting.
The new video claims to show the militants who carried out the November 13 attacks committing atrocities in ISIL-controlled territory while plotting the slaughter in the French capital that left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded.
British prime minister David Cameron’s office also dismissed the video which threatened more attacks on Europe and in Britain. Footage showed a picture of Mr Cameron accompanied by the words in English: “Whoever stands in the ranks of kufr [unbelievers] will be a target for our swords.”
“We’re in the process of examining this latest propaganda video which is another move from an appalling terrorist group that’s clearly in decline and in retreat,” the spokeswoman for the prime minister’s office said on Monday.
Mr Cameron earlier this month branded another ISIL group video containing threats against Britain as “desperate stuff”.
The 17-minute video, released by ISIL’s media arm Alhayat, shows the extent of the planning that went into the multiple attacks in Paris, which French authorities have said were planned in Syria. It is also likely meant to serve as a recruitment tool to rally followers to the extremists’ cause.
The video was provided online by the Site Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist websites.
All nine militants seen in the video died in the Paris attacks or their aftermath. Seven of the attackers — four from Belgium and three from France — spoke fluent French. The two others — identified by their noms de guerre as Iraqis — spoke in Arabic.
Seven of the militants, including a 20-year-old who was the youngest of the group, were filmed standing behind bound captives, described as “apostates” who were either beheaded or shot.
“Soon on the Champs-Elysees,” says Samy Amimour, who was raised in a Paris suburb near the French national stadium, as he holds a captive’s head aloft.
The November 13 attacks targeted a packed concert hall, a restaurant and cafe, and a football match at the national stadium.
The video was apparently filmed before the men sneaked back into Europe and contains no footage shot by the attackers during the days of terror that began November 13 and ended five days later with the death of Abdelhamid Abbaoud, who was believed to be the leader of the attacks.
Abaaoud died in a police raid on an apartment near the Stade de France.
Meanwhile, another video from the South-east Asian affiliate of ISIL threatening attacks in Malaysia has also emerged, prompting prime minister Najib Razak to warn that the extremist group is a “very real” threat to the country.
Police said the video, featuring operatives from the militant group Katibah Nusantara speaking under the ISIL logo, was significant because it was the first from ISIL in Malay.
“This threat is very real and my government takes it very seriously,” Mr Najib said.
The video that surfaced online warned Malaysia against the crackdown on ISIL supporters and featured two Malaysians based in Syria, said Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, director of the police counterterrorism unit.
“They threatened to carry out an attack if police did not stop the arrests and release detainees immediately,” said Mr Ayob.
* Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters
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