Breaking News Late Father Jacques hamel
An 86-year-old priest has been 'beheaded' by two 'ISIS' knifemen who cut his throat after bursting into a French church and taking nuns and worshippers hostage before being shot dead by police.
Five people including the priest, two nuns and two parishioners were held by assailants who raided the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen in Normandy at 9am.
http://fesitglobal.blogspot.it/p/breaking-news.htmlThe clergyman, named as Jacques Hamel, is believed to have been beheaded during the attack while another hostage is 'hovering between life and death' in hospital.
The two attackers have been 'neutralised' by elite marksmen in a dramatic police operation while the building is being searched for possible explosives. French president Francois Hollande said the men claimed to be from' ISIS.
There were reports the attackers shouted 'Daesh' – an alternative name for ISIS often used by the French government – as they ran into the church. At least one of the men was dressed in Islamic clothing, according to French media reports, and an anti-terrorist unit has already taken up the investigation.
It comes as it emerged that the place of worship was one of a number of Catholic churches on a terrorist 'hit list' found on a suspected ISIS extremist last April
Pope Francis has expressed his 'pain and horror' at the incident with a spokesman saying the Pontiff was appalled by the 'barbaric killing' because it happened in a sacred place.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Just Welby said: 'Evil attacks the weakest, denies truth and love, is defeated through Jesus Christ. Pray for France, for victims, for their communities.'
Footage from the scene shows emergency crews, including elite police squads, arriving at the Church of the Gambetta and one person being stretchered into an ambulance.
The clergyman, ordained in 1958, had his throat cut, said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Paris.
The spokesman said the two men rushed into the church via a back entrance during a morning service, soon after 9am.
The two men seized the priest, two sisters from a local order, and two parishioners, said the spokesman
'A third nun escaped and raised the alarm, and anti-terrorists officers were on the scene within minutes,' said a source who lives locally.
'It appears that the priest who was celebrating the service was attacked first, and had his throat cut.
'The area around the church was sealed off, and then armed officers appeared with their weapons. I heard at least a dozen shots.'
The siege officially ended at around 11am, following the shooting of the two attackers.
Units attending including the elite RAID, the anti-terrorist unit that was heavily involved in the Paris attacks last year, in which almost 150 people were murdered.
Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said police were searching the church and its perimeter for possible explosives and terrorism investigators had been summoned.
Anti-terrorist judges immediately opened an investigation in to today's attack, as President Francois Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve attended the scene.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls tweeted that he was 'horrified at the barbaric attack' adding: 'All France and all Catholics are bruised.'
A number of shots were heard over a period of around 15 seconds as the incident came to an end.
Eulalie Garcia, who works in a beauty parlour, is on the same road as the church, and told reporters that she knew the priest, who had taught her the catechism as a young girl.
'My family has lived here for 35 years and we have always known him,' she said. 'He was someone who was treasured by the community. He was very discreet and didn't like to draw attention to himself.'
She said she was very shocked by the death of the priest, who lived opposite his church. 'It can happen to anyone,' she said.
Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen later confirmed that Father Jacques Hamel had been killed.
In a statement from Krakow, Poland, where Pope Francis was visiting, Lebrun says 'I cry out to God, with all men of good will. And I invite all non-believers to unite with this cry ... The Catholic Church has no other arms besides prayer and fraternity between men.'
The area around the church remained cordoned off and the old town was out of bounds.
The French Police Nationale gave no details about the situation but sent a Tweet urging media not to cross security tape at the scene or take pictures or video.
Saint-Etienne du Rouvray has a population of 30,000 and is around seven miles from Rouen.
The incident comes as France is on high alert after a Bastille Day attack that killed 84 people in Nice and a series of deadly attacks last year claimed by ISIS.
This morning it emerged Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray was one of a number of Catholic churches on a terrorist 'hit list' found on a suspected ISIS terrorist.
Sid Ahmed Ghlam, 24, was arrested in April 2015 after he called an ambulance in Paris after shooting himself in the leg.
Investigators believe he was a terrorist planning 'imminent attacks' in France on the instructions of ISIS leaders.
Investigators found an arsenal of weapons in Ghlam's car, which was parked nearby, and at his student accommodation. It included Kalashnikovs, a police-issue pistol, and a number of bullet-proof vests.
Documents found at his flat and in a search of his computer and telephone, suggested Ghlam was in contact with a French speaker in Syria whohad ordered him to carry out attacks on churches.
These included the Sacre-Couer basilica in Paris, and places of worship including the one in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray targeted today.
Ghlam is currently in a high-security prison while waiting trialfor 'murder, attempted murder, association with criminals with a view to commitcrimes against people' and for other infractions 'connected to a terroristorganisation'.
The computer student, who born in Algeria, was also charged with the murder of a 32-year-old woman, who was found in the passenger seat of her burning car after his arrest.
Dance instructor Aurelie Chatelain, a mother of one, who had just attended a Pilates class, died after she was shot three times in the head, in what police believe may have been an attempt by Ghlam to hijack
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