Omar Diaby, believed to be a leading French recruiter of jihadists in Syria, has declared himself alive after falsely announcing his death to receive medical treatment, France 2 television reported, according to AFP.
Speaking on Skype, Diaby, who also goes by the name Omar Omsen, told a France 2 journalist: "The emir Omar Omsen is not dead. His death was announced for a very precise reason."
The 40-year-old said his parents had announced his death on Twitter last year so he could "leave Syria to have major surgery in a neighboring country" while avoiding detection by security services.