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| Paris Orly airport shooting: Attacker was 'radicalised Muslim' man known to French intelligence services | Paris Orly airport shooting: Attacker was 'radicalised Muslim' man known to French intelligence services |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A “radicalised Muslim” known to security services has been shot dead after attempting to steal a soldier’s gun at Paris Orly Airport. | |
| The 39-year-old French citizen, identified as Ziyed Ben Belgacem, shot at police officers manning a checkpoint in northern Paris with an “air pistol” before launching the airport attack, the French interior minister said. | |
| During a visit to the airport, Bruno Le Roux said one officer was shot during the routine check and was undergoing hospital treatment for injuries to his face. | During a visit to the airport, Bruno Le Roux said one officer was shot during the routine check and was undergoing hospital treatment for injuries to his face. |
| “We can link the [airport attacker’s] identity with a check carried out at Garges-les-Gonesse by a patrol in Stains this morning,” he added. | |
| “The individual’s identity is known to the police and intelligence services.” Belgacem's father and brother, as well as a cousin, have been detained for questioning. | |
| According to French broadcaster BFMTV he had sent them a text reading: “I screwed up, I shot the police.” | |
| A police source described the attacker as “a radicalised Muslim known to intelligence services”. | |
| Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told a news conference on Saturday evening that at the airport, Belgacem yelled he wanted to die in the name of Allah and said “whatever happens, there will be deaths”. | |
| Mr Molins said the attacker held an air pistol to a soldier’s head and used her as a shield. He apparently wanted to use her weapon to shoot people in the busy airport. | |
| Contrary to earlier reports by French officials, Mr Molins said the attacker did wrench away her powerful military-grade assault rifle. | |
| The soldier’s colleagues fired three bursts – eight rounds in all – when they killed him. | |
| Belgacem had a lengthy criminal history of violence, robbery and drug offences but was not on the “fiche S” list of terror threats, despite being investigated by the DGSI as a potential jihadi after indications of Islamist radicalisation emerged in 2015. | |
| Mr Molins said three people were being held in police custody, and that Belgacem’s choice of target and evidence that he had been radicalised justified launching a terrorism investigation. | |
| Research has shown that more than half of European Isis fighters have a criminal past, with recruiters deliberately targeting violent criminals and gang members looking for redemption and a licence to kill in the name of jihad. | Research has shown that more than half of European Isis fighters have a criminal past, with recruiters deliberately targeting violent criminals and gang members looking for redemption and a licence to kill in the name of jihad. |
| Like many other Islamists, Belgacem is believed to have been radicalised in prison and was put under surveillance after being freed, although it was unclear when monitoring stopped. | |
| Prosecutors said no evidence of extremism was uncovered in a search of his home, which was among scores raided in the immediate aftermath of the Paris attacks. | Prosecutors said no evidence of extremism was uncovered in a search of his home, which was among scores raided in the immediate aftermath of the Paris attacks. |
| Belgacem’s first attack came at 6.50am (5.50am GMT) on Saturday morning, when he was stopped for speeding by a police patrol in the northern Paris suburb of Garges-les-Gonesse. | Belgacem’s first attack came at 6.50am (5.50am GMT) on Saturday morning, when he was stopped for speeding by a police patrol in the northern Paris suburb of Garges-les-Gonesse. |
| The national police information office said he was showing officers identification papers when he pulled put a pellet gun and opened fire, hitting one police officer in the face. | The national police information office said he was showing officers identification papers when he pulled put a pellet gun and opened fire, hitting one police officer in the face. |
| They fired back but Belgacem managed to flee in a Renault Clio, which he dumped to hijack a woman’s Citroen Picasso after making threats in a bar in Vitry. | They fired back but Belgacem managed to flee in a Renault Clio, which he dumped to hijack a woman’s Citroen Picasso after making threats in a bar in Vitry. |
| The stolen vehicle was later found at Paris Orly Airport – but not until Belgacem had been shot dead in the attempted attack. | The stolen vehicle was later found at Paris Orly Airport – but not until Belgacem had been shot dead in the attempted attack. |
| Belgacem attempted to steal a Famas assault rifle from a female soldier on a counter-terror patrol before being killed, Mr Le Roux said. | |
| Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French defence minister, said the air force member was thrown to the ground during the assault, adding: “The two other airmen in the patrol opened fire to protect their comrade and protect nearby members of the public. | |
| “They reacted with great professionalism and remarkable composure.” | |
| Francois Hollande, the French President, hailed the courage and efficiency of police confronted with “assaults committed by a particularly dangerous” individual. | |
| Terrorism prosecutors have opened an investigation into the attack, which comes after a series of Isis-inspired atrocities across France. | Terrorism prosecutors have opened an investigation into the attack, which comes after a series of Isis-inspired atrocities across France. |
| No one else was injured in the airport attack at 8.30am local time (7.30am GMT), which triggered a red alert sent locally via the French government’s Saip terror warning system. | |
| “We were waiting in line to check in for a flight to Tel Aviv when we heard three or four gunshots nearby,” 54-year-old Franck Lecam told AFP. | “We were waiting in line to check in for a flight to Tel Aviv when we heard three or four gunshots nearby,” 54-year-old Franck Lecam told AFP. |
| “There were police, emergency services, soldiers running in all directions.” | |
| Another witness said Belgacem held the soldier by her neck while struggling with his other arm to get hold of her gun. | Another witness said Belgacem held the soldier by her neck while struggling with his other arm to get hold of her gun. |
| A photograph showed him lying dead on the floor outside a bakery chain, wearing black trousers and a white shirt. | A photograph showed him lying dead on the floor outside a bakery chain, wearing black trousers and a white shirt. |
| The airport was evacuated as security operations continued, with France's national police urging people not to cross the security perimeter. | The airport was evacuated as security operations continued, with France's national police urging people not to cross the security perimeter. |
| Bomb squads and armed police were sent into the building to sweep for explosives but none were found. | Bomb squads and armed police were sent into the building to sweep for explosives but none were found. |
| A notice was posted on the Paris airports authority website urging passengers not to travel to Orly, with diversions and delays expected. | A notice was posted on the Paris airports authority website urging passengers not to travel to Orly, with diversions and delays expected. |
| Air traffic was suspended at Orly airport’s south and west terminals as operations continued, but restrictions were lifted on Saturday afternoon. | |
| The attacked soldier was part of Operation Sentinel – a security initiative seeing troops deployed in combat uniforms around high profile sites including the Eiffel Tower since the Charlie Hebdo massacre. | |
| It was the fourth time that troops in the 7,500-strong force have been attacked. | It was the fourth time that troops in the 7,500-strong force have been attacked. |
| In February, a man wielding a machete attacked four soldiers patrolling at Le Louvre, a year after three petrol members were wounded by a man armed with a knife outside a Jewish community centre in Nice. | In February, a man wielding a machete attacked four soldiers patrolling at Le Louvre, a year after three petrol members were wounded by a man armed with a knife outside a Jewish community centre in Nice. |
| In January 2016, a man rammed his car into four soldiers guarding a mosque in the southeastern city of Valence. | In January 2016, a man rammed his car into four soldiers guarding a mosque in the southeastern city of Valence. |
| France remains on high alert following a string of terror attacks directed and inspired by Isis, which has directed its followers to carry out opportunistic attacks on security forces and civilians in Europe. | France remains on high alert following a string of terror attacks directed and inspired by Isis, which has directed its followers to carry out opportunistic attacks on security forces and civilians in Europe. |
| A parcel bomb believed to have been sent by Greek anarchists exploded at the International Monetary Fund’s offices in Paris on Thursday, on the same day a student opened fire at a school in Grasse. | |
| Ministers said the latest attack showed the importance of France’s ongoing state of emergency, which has been extended several times despite human rights concerns raised by the UN. |