Two men entered a church in the middle of a mass and took hostages near the city of Rouen, killing one priest. This event took place in the early Tuesday morning while a mass was being held inside a church. The Police were able to take control by killing the two attackers but another person who was seriously wounded is between life and death, at this moment. The Islamic State group is claiming responsibility for this attack.
Act of terror in NormandyFrance.
During the early minutes of Tuesday morning, two men entered a church service being held at Sainte Etienne Du Rouvray in France and killed an 86-year-old priest by slicing his throat, they then took hostages from the people there.
The police surrounded the church and were able to kill the attackers when they stepped out fo cover. They were able to save the lives of the remaining three hostages inside the church.
One of the attackers was known to the police.
According to Mohammed Karabila, who´s head of the regional council of the Muslim faith, French security services knew who one of the attackers was. He said that this man has been wanted by the police for one and a half years and that he had visited Turkey. The security services were already aware of this according to a police official. One of the attackers was denied a visa to go to Syria and he wore an electronic bracelet that monitored his whereabouts.
Islamic State claims the act of terror.
This was one of the first attacks inside a church in recent years. In a statement published by the Islamic State's affiliated Amaq News Agency,the attack was perpetrated by two members of the Islamic State. They committed the crime in support of the calls of terror that target countries in the U.S.
coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Site of the crime under siege.
The church and its surroundings are being searched for explosives and other types of terrorist weapons. Special investigations are being performed with trained dogs, explosive detectors and bomb disposal services. There are still many unknown details about the real meaning and purpose of this act of terror and even the judicial police cannot enter the area.
The archbishop, Dominique Lebrun has confirmed the death of the 86-year-old priest, Rev. Jacques Hamel. French president François Hollande, who visited the site of the crime, stated that it was a sign that France is in a war withthe Islamic State and that France should fight that war of terrorismwith all it takes.
France under a high emergency alert.
This nation is under a high state of emergency after the recent terrorist attacks - one in Nice on Bastille Day which claimed the lives of 84 people and by a series of attacks last year that claimed the lives of 147 people in Paris and now this new attack that has claimed the lives of a priest; however, the real number of people dead is still unknown.
