Algerian militants linked to ISIS beheaded a 55-year-old French hiker they abducted on Sunday to protest France's military campaign against ISIS in Iraq. In a gruesome video posted online, militants called the beheading a "blood message to the French government."

According to Al Jazeera, the victim was Herve Gourdel from Nice, France. Gourdel appeared in a video earlier this week stating, "I am in the hands of Jund al-Khilifa. This group is asking me to ask you [President Francois Hollande] to not intervene in Iraq. I ask you to do everything to get me out of this bad situation and I thank you."

Jund al-Khilifa militants recently turned away from the local al-Qaeda branch and pledged allegiance to ISIS.