Gouri Abdelmalek led Jund al Khilafa , which killed French hiker Herve Gourdel in September . Jund al Khilafa , an Algerian group that splintered from al Qaeda , linked to ISIS . The report of Abdelmalek 's death comes roughly three months after Jund al Khilafa -- a small Islamist group formerly linked to al Qaeda -- published a video showing the beheading of Gourdel in what the group said was a display of support to al Qaeda 's rival ISIS . The U.S. State Department has designated the Islamic State as a foreign terrorist organization since 2014 and imposed sanctions on its leaders.
Gouri Abdelmalek led Jund al Khilafa , which killed French hiker Herve Gourdel in September . Jund al Khilafa , an Algerian group that splintered from al Qaeda , linked to ISIS . The U.S. State Department has designated the Islamic State as a foreign terrorist organization since 2014 and imposed sanctions on its leaders.