Priest 'forced to kneel and butchered at altar'

27 July 2016 - 10:21 By Reuters, Staff reporter

Killers linked to Islamic State slit the throat of an elderly priest and took several worshippers hostage in a French church during morning Mass yesterday before police shot them dead.Britain's Daily Mail, quoting a witness, said the men filmed themselves killing the priest after forcing him to kneel ''before they performed a 'sermon in Arabic' at the altar''.The outrage was the latest in a wave of attacks in Europe inspired by the Islamist terrorist group based in Iraq and Syria.Police said the men entered the church, in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near the northern city of Rouen, west of Paris, during morning Mass. They murdered Father Jacques Hamel, 85, and took four people hostage, one of whom was seriously wounded. Police marksmen shot the attackers dead as they emerged from the church with their hostages.According to the Daily Mail, one of the attackers was a 19-year-old identified as Adel K, who was being monitored by electronic tag after twice attempting to join IS in Syria.''Adel K is understood to have forced the priest to kneel while his accomplice, who also lived locally and was on a terrorist watchlist, filmed the brutal killing,'' the British tabloid said.President Francois Hollande said IS had declared war on France and the state would "use all its means" within the law to fight terrorists.IS news agency Amaq said two of the group's "soldiers" were responsible.The attack was the latest in a series, including the mass killing in Nice, southern France, on Bastille Day 12 days ago, and four incidents in Germany, most recently a suicide bombing at a concert in Ansbach on Sunday.IS has called for its supporters to take action with any available weapons targeting countries that it has been fighting.Former president Nicolas Sarkozy, expected to enter a conservative primary soon for next year's presidential election, accused the socialist government of being soft on terrorism."We must be merciless," Sarkozy said. "The legal quibbling, precautions and pretexts for insufficient action are not acceptable. There is no more time to be wasted."The centre-right opposition wants the government to put all Islamist suspects subject to a confidential security notice under administrative detention to avert potential attacks.Far-right National Front leader Marine le Pen, also expected to run for the presidency, said both major parties had failed on security."All those who have governed us for 30 years bear an immense responsibility. It's revolting to watch them bickering," she said.Hollande insisted that the government must stick to the rule of law, the hallmark of a democracy.Pope Francis condemned what he called a "barbarous killing". "The fact that this episode took place in a church, killing a priest, a minister of the Lord, and involving the faithful, is something that affects us profoundly," Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said. "Everything is being done to trigger a war of religions," tweeted Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a former conservative prime minister who now heads the Senate's foreign affairs committee.Hollande visited the Normandy town with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, meeting survivors of the church attack and members of the emergency services...

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