An Islamic State Isis "soldier" who killed a French priest had previously attempted to travel to Syria on two occasions in , it has been revealed. The attacker had also been charged with terror links and was detained before being released on bail.
The knifeman was on probation and was required to wear an electronic tag which allowed police to track him after his release, AFP news agency said, citing a source close to the investigation. Earlier today 26 July two armed men stormed a church in Normandy and butchered Father Jacques Hamel during morning Mass. The attacker who tried and failed to travel to Syria last year has been identified as year-old Adel Kermiche, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins confirmed.
Hamel was forced to his knees before the assailants slit his throat. The pair also filmed the brutal assassination at the church in the town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen. The armed men took five hostages after entering the place of worship at around 9.
The attackers captured the murder on camera. Molins added that the perpetrators were carrying a "fake explosive device covered in aluminium foil". The second attacker is yet to be identified. A French nun, Sister Danielle, was one of those held hostage. He wanted to defend himself. And that's when the tragedy happened. They did a sort of sermon around the altar in Arabic.
It's a horror," she added. Sister Danielle managed to escape as they prepared to kill Father Hamel. She added: "Me, I realised the moment he started attacking Jacques, when he put him on his knees and almost made him fall over. I got out quickly.
