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| France launches terror inquiry after decapitated body found in factory attack | France launches terror inquiry after decapitated body found in factory attack |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| France has launched a terrorism investigation after police found a decapitated body and a flag with Islamist inscriptions following an attack in which a man seemingly tried to blow up a factory belonging to a US gas company. | |
| “It is a terror attack. There is no doubt about it,” the French president, François Hollande, told reporters in Brussels before leaving a European council summit to return to Paris. | “It is a terror attack. There is no doubt about it,” the French president, François Hollande, told reporters in Brussels before leaving a European council summit to return to Paris. |
| A decapitated body with “a message written on it” was found at the scene in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, near Lyon in the south-west of the country, Hollande said. Various reports identified the dead man as the manager of a transport firm, whose company often made deliveries to the Air Products factory. | |
| A suspected attacker arrested at the scene worked for the dead man’s company, according to local reports. | |
| Bernard Cazeneuve, France’s interior minister, said the suspect’s identity had yet to be confirmed, but he was thought to be called Yessim Salim. The minister added: “This person was under investigation for radicalisation but this investigation was not renewed in 2008. He had no police record.” | |
| A local newspaper, Dauphiné Libéré, quoted an unnamed source as saying Salim worked at the same company as the beheaded victim. The suspect was believed to have hung the man’s head on a fence or gate before driving a vehicle into a warehouse filled with gas canisters, causing an explosion, the paper said. Two people were hurt in the blast. | |
| Security officials told AP the attacker had seemingly hoped to cause a far bigger explosion with his actions, believing the canisters were more combustible than they proved. Hollande said the apparent intention of the attack had been to blow up the factory. | |
| Salim’s wife had been arrested, the Dauphiné Libéré added, as had another man who lives in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier and who had been seen earlier repeatedly driving past the factory complex. | |
| Speaking in Brussels, Hollande outlined what was known: “This attack was in a vehicle driven by one person, perhaps accompanied by another, which rammed its way at high speed into this establishment, which contained bottles of gas. The intent was without doubt to cause an explosion. It was a terrorist attack.” | |
| Another security source told the AP a severed head was found on top of the gate at the entrance to the factory. The official said the body was found near the site of the explosion, and it seemed the blast was not the cause of the decapitation. | |
| Two flags, one white and one black, both with Arabic inscriptions, were found at the scene, the same source told AP. | Two flags, one white and one black, both with Arabic inscriptions, were found at the scene, the same source told AP. |
| Air Products confirmed there had been an incident at its factory and said all staff had been evacuated. | Air Products confirmed there had been an incident at its factory and said all staff had been evacuated. |
| “We can confirm that an incident occurred at our facility in L’Isle-d’Abeau, France this morning,” a statement said. “Our priority at this stage is to take care of our employees, who have been evacuated from the site and all accounted for. Emergency services are on site and have contained the situation. The site is secure. Our crisis and emergency response teams have been activated and are working closely with all relevant authorities.” | “We can confirm that an incident occurred at our facility in L’Isle-d’Abeau, France this morning,” a statement said. “Our priority at this stage is to take care of our employees, who have been evacuated from the site and all accounted for. Emergency services are on site and have contained the situation. The site is secure. Our crisis and emergency response teams have been activated and are working closely with all relevant authorities.” |
| France has been on alert for possible Islamist-related attacks since gunmen killed 17 people in January in assaults on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and a Jewish food store. | France has been on alert for possible Islamist-related attacks since gunmen killed 17 people in January in assaults on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and a Jewish food store. |
| Hollande said the response to such attacks should be measured. He said: “We all remember what has happened in our country, and in other countries. There is a lot of emotion, but emotion is not the only answer. We need action, deterrence, and we need to spread our values and to never give in to fear.” | Hollande said the response to such attacks should be measured. He said: “We all remember what has happened in our country, and in other countries. There is a lot of emotion, but emotion is not the only answer. We need action, deterrence, and we need to spread our values and to never give in to fear.” |
| Air Products, based in Pennsylvania, supplies gases, chemicals and associated equipment. It has 20,000 employees and outlets in 50 countries. | |