sankar
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2015
- Messages
- 322
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
- Location
News agency linked to IS said the attack had been carried out by an 'Islamic State fighter'
A man suspected to have killed a French policeman and his partner in a terror-linked attack had been sentenced in 2013 for taking part in a jihadist organisation with links to Pakistan, sources close to the probe said Tuesday.
They identified him as Larossi Abballa, 25, adding that he had been sentenced to a three-year term -- six months of which were suspended -- for "criminal association with the aim of preparing terrorist acts," in a trial with seven other defendants.
A policeman and his partner were killed at their home in the northwestern Paris suburb of Magnanville late Monday.
The stabbing attack was carried out by a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group, sources close to the investigation said earlier.
The Elysee presidential palace said President Francois Hollande was meeting Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas.
Witnesses told investigators the man may have shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) as he stabbed the policeman repeatedly outside his home before holing up inside with the woman and the couple's three-year-old son.
Loud detonations were heard at the scene as elite RAID police moved in following failed negotiations with the attacker, who claimed allegiance to IS while talking to officers, sources close to the inquiry told AFP.
The couple's toddler son was "in shock but unharmed," a prosecutor added, saying the boy was receiving medical attention.
A news agency linked to IS said the attack had been carried out by an "Islamic State fighter", days after posting a similar claim following the massacre at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.
The bloodshed also comes as France hosts the Euro 2016 football tournament under tight security -- still reeling from jihadist attacks in Paris last November that left 130 people dead.
The attacker was yet to be identified and neither of the victims was named, but the slain policeman was known to be 42 years old and worked in nearby Les Mureaux.
His partner was a local police official.
Hollande condemns 'odious' attack
President Francois Hollande said in a statement that he "strongly condemned this odious act".
"A police commander and his partner, a civil servant at the interior ministry, were shamefully murdered this evening," Hollande said.
"All light will be shed on the circumstances of this terrible tragedy," he added, announcing a meeting of top officials at the presidential palace early Tuesday.
Officers found the woman's body when they stormed the house, and the attacker was killed during the assault, interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said.
The couple's toddler son was "in shock but unharmed," a prosecutor added, saying the boy was receiving medical attention.
Police sources had told AFP earlier in the evening that the attacker had taken the policeman's partner and son hostage after stabbing the officer to death as he returned home around 9:00 pm (1900 GMT).
Residents were evacuated from the neighborhood as police moved in.
RAID officers "arrived rapidly on the scene. Negotiations were launched and an assault plan was put in place," said Brandet.
But the negotiations were "unsuccessful" and authorities decided to launch an assault around midnight, he added.
A helicopter was on the ground a few hundred metres away from the scene of the attack, while several fire trucks and ambulances were seen leaving the security perimeter.
A man suspected to have killed a French policeman and his partner in a terror-linked attack had been sentenced in 2013 for taking part in a jihadist organisation with links to Pakistan, sources close to the probe said Tuesday.
They identified him as Larossi Abballa, 25, adding that he had been sentenced to a three-year term -- six months of which were suspended -- for "criminal association with the aim of preparing terrorist acts," in a trial with seven other defendants.
A policeman and his partner were killed at their home in the northwestern Paris suburb of Magnanville late Monday.
The stabbing attack was carried out by a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group, sources close to the investigation said earlier.
The Elysee presidential palace said President Francois Hollande was meeting Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas.
Witnesses told investigators the man may have shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) as he stabbed the policeman repeatedly outside his home before holing up inside with the woman and the couple's three-year-old son.
Loud detonations were heard at the scene as elite RAID police moved in following failed negotiations with the attacker, who claimed allegiance to IS while talking to officers, sources close to the inquiry told AFP.
The couple's toddler son was "in shock but unharmed," a prosecutor added, saying the boy was receiving medical attention.
A news agency linked to IS said the attack had been carried out by an "Islamic State fighter", days after posting a similar claim following the massacre at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.
The bloodshed also comes as France hosts the Euro 2016 football tournament under tight security -- still reeling from jihadist attacks in Paris last November that left 130 people dead.
The attacker was yet to be identified and neither of the victims was named, but the slain policeman was known to be 42 years old and worked in nearby Les Mureaux.
His partner was a local police official.
Hollande condemns 'odious' attack
President Francois Hollande said in a statement that he "strongly condemned this odious act".
"A police commander and his partner, a civil servant at the interior ministry, were shamefully murdered this evening," Hollande said.
"All light will be shed on the circumstances of this terrible tragedy," he added, announcing a meeting of top officials at the presidential palace early Tuesday.
Officers found the woman's body when they stormed the house, and the attacker was killed during the assault, interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said.
The couple's toddler son was "in shock but unharmed," a prosecutor added, saying the boy was receiving medical attention.
Police sources had told AFP earlier in the evening that the attacker had taken the policeman's partner and son hostage after stabbing the officer to death as he returned home around 9:00 pm (1900 GMT).
Residents were evacuated from the neighborhood as police moved in.
RAID officers "arrived rapidly on the scene. Negotiations were launched and an assault plan was put in place," said Brandet.
But the negotiations were "unsuccessful" and authorities decided to launch an assault around midnight, he added.
A helicopter was on the ground a few hundred metres away from the scene of the attack, while several fire trucks and ambulances were seen leaving the security perimeter.
