Thread: Man beheaded in apparent terror attack at factory in France, local media say

Man beheaded in apparent terror attack at factory in France, local media say

Published June 26, 2015
FoxNews.com

One man was decapitated and several others were injured in a terror attack at a chemical factory in eastern France Friday morning.
According to Le Dauphine newspaper, a loud explosion was reported at approximately 9:50 a.m. local time in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, northwest of the Alpine city of Grenoble.

A French security official told the Associated Press that two attackers arrived at the factory in a car, bearing banners written in Arabic, and set off an explosion.

According to the paper, a man walked into the company's offices saying he was a member of ISIS and carrying one of the terror group's flags. After beheading a man at the company's entrance, he went into the building and set off several gas canisters.

One of the attackers was arrested, and local media reported that the man was known to authorities. The status of the second attacker was not known, thoughLe Parisien newspaper reported that person was killed.

Sky News, citing French legal sources, reported that the severed head had Arabic writing scrawled across it and was placed on a fence next to an Islamist flag.

French authorities tell Fox News that approximately ten people were injured. A local police deputy described the attack as "definitely" a terrorist act. France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazenueve was on his way to the scene.

France's anti-terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation into the incident. The country went on high alert after a series of attacks in January that left 20 people dead in and around Paris region, including the Islamic terrorists.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/06...cal-media-say/

Beheading And Blast Reported At French Factory

Attackers reportedly carrying Islamist flags are said to have rammed a car into the building, setting off an explosion.



11:25, UK,Friday 26 June 2015

A man has been decapitated by attackers brandishing Islamist flags at a French factory near Grenoble, according to officials.
The severed head had Arabic writing scrawled across it and was found on a fence next to two jihadi banners, a French official said.
Several other people are reported to have been hurt in explosions at the factory.


Picture of the scene (ledauphine.com)

It is understood that the explosions were triggered when two attackers deliberately crashed a car into gas canisters, said a police source.

Reports said a 30-year-old man had been arrested - understood to have been known to foreign intelligence services.
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Le Parisien newspaper reported shots had been fired and one Islamist had been killed at the premises in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier in southeastern France.

One witness called Caroline, from a neighbouring factory, said: "I heard a really loud noise. Fire engines arrived with the police.
"We thought it was a motorway accident."

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said security was being tightened at "sensitive sites" in response to the attack.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said he would go "immediately" to the scene.

David Cameron has spoken to French President Francois Hollande at the EU summit in Brussels to express his sympathies.
Downing Street described the attack as an "appalling incident".

Employees at the factory - Air Products - are said to be "very shocked".

Henry Samuel, a correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, told Sky News: "The person arrested was allegedly carrying a flag of the Islamic State and he said he was a member of the IS.

Video: What We Know So Far

"There are several people wounded."

Benedicte Paviot, a French commentator, said: "It seems we may be dealing with a terrorist attack, that is not at all confirmed yet by the French authorities."

The attack came nearly six months after the Islamist attacks in and around Paris that killed 17 people in January.

Those attacks started with a shooting at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Sky's foreign affairs editor Sam Kiley said: "There has been a concerted effort by Islamic State to reach out to their followers in France and exhortations to conduct this sort of attack.

"We saw with the Charlie Hebdo attack these were also self-starter individuals who had had training from al Qaeda in Yemen.

"One of the three said he was there on behalf of Islamic State, the other two claimed membership of al Qaeda.

"In a sense it doesn't matter. What matters is that people are inspired to carry out terrorist attacks."
More follows...
http://news.sky.com/story/1508786/be...french-factory