PARIS, Oct 22: French authorities have identified the first French Islamic militant killed in Iraq, heightening fears that Islamic networks are recruiting Europeans to fight with insurgents against US-led forces, judicial sources say.

The sources confirmed a report in Le Figaro newspaper on Friday, which said French police had identified a Franco-Tunisian from the Paris region killed in Iraq in mid-July.

The man, named only as Redouane H, 19, died in a bombardment of Fallujah, Le Figaro said. His elder brother Boubaker, 21, also attempted to enter Iraq but was arrested at the Iraqi-Syrian border. He remains in detention in Syria, the paper said.

Last month, French prosecutors opened a judicial probe into suspicions an Islamic network was recruiting people to fight in Iraq. A probe into Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, the suspected brains behind the Madrid train bombings in March, indicated he had recruited volunteers in France, Belgium and Italy. -Reuters