DHAKA: A horrified France was grappling with a new reality on Thursday in which hundreds of its citizens are openly joining extremist groups and directly calling for attacks on their homeland.

A new video from the Islamic State (IS) group released on extremist forums and Twitter on Wednesday showed three Kalashnikov-wielding Frenchmen burning their passports and calling on Muslims to join them or stage attacks in France.

The new video explicitly calls for retaliation against France for launching air strikes against ISIS, which has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq, reports The Straits Times.

It follows the appearance of two other French militants - identified as 22-year-olds Maxime Hauchard and Mickael Dos Santos - in a brutal IS execution video released at the weekend.

BDST: 1812 HRS, NOV 20, 2014