France: Muslims Take Hostages in Church - Cut Priest's Throat

[Rev.Cambeul]

Normandy: A priest has been killed and two attackers shot dead as armed men took hostages in a church in France's northern Normandy region.

Five people, including two nuns, were inside the church when the knife-wielding attackers took them hostage in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen.

Interior ministry spokesman Pierre Henry Brandet said "the two assailants came out and were killed by police".

Newspaper Le Figaro reports the priest had his throat cut by the armed men.

Three of the hostages were freed unharmed, and another is fighting for their life.

Sister Danielle, a nun who was in the church at the time, said elderly priest Father Jaques Hamel was wearing his white cloaks and was at the foot of the altar when "they forced him to get on his knees and not move".

"He tried to struggle, he tried," she told local radio RMC. "He knew what was happening."

She said the men were speaking Arabic and shouting and had "recorded" the attack. She managed to run away and alert the police.

One of the two attackers had been charged with terror links and held before being freed on bail, a source close to the investigation said.

The assailant, who was known to France's anti-terrorism police, tried twice to go to Syria in 2015, the source told AFP. After his release, he had to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet that allows police to locate him at all times.

A source close to the investigation said the attackers were armed with knives, an old pistol which did not work, and a "fake package" that appeared as if it contained explosives.

The town's mosque was inaugurated in 2000 on a piece of land gifted by the Catholic parish.

Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/world/2016/07/26/18/59/reports-of-hostages-taken-at-church-in-rouen-in-northern-france#p3lV840zyIX5r5fd.99

[Rev.Cambeul]

Who Were the Normandy Church Attackers?

Sky News | 27 July 2016

http://news.sky.com/story/who-were-the-normandy-church-attackers-10513462

A priest has been killed by two armed men who slit his throat in a church in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.

Another person was seriously injured as the assailants stormed the building and took hostages during morning mass, before being shot dead by French police.

The attack has been claimed by Islamic State (IS), which said the men were its "soldiers".

So what do we know about the two attackers?

One of the assailants has been identified as 19-year-old Adel Kermiche, who lived in the town.

He had been under surveillance following two failed attempts to get to Syria last year, according to France's anti-terror prosecutor.

Kermiche was arrested in Germany in March 2015 as he tried to join extremists in the war-ravaged country using his brother's identification.

And then he was detained in Turkey two months later using a cousin's ID.

When he was returned to France, Kermiche was detained until March this year when he was released and had to wear an electronic tag so authorities knew where he was.

But the tag was turned off for a few hours every morning, corresponding with the time of the church attack.

A witness also said he had previously threatened to attack a church.

The identity of the other assailant has not yet been revealed.

Meanwhile, a suspect, believed to be 17 and whose brother reportedly went to Syria last year, has been arrested as part of the church investigation.

IS has previously encouraged its followers to attack Christian places of worship.

Last summer, it said to target "traffic areas, such as tourist sites, supermarkets, synagogues, churches, Masonic Lodges, the permanence of political parties. The goal is to instil fear in their heart".

It is not believed to be the first time jihadists have planned to target places of worship in France.

In April 2015, Algerian national Sid Ahmed Ghlam was arrested in Paris on suspicion of planning to attack churches in the capital.

He was detained after he apparently shot himself by accident and called an ambulance.

[Br.IanVonTurpie]

One of my favourite French terms is "Deja vu".