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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Killing of French Police Officer ISIS Claims Responsibility for Killing of French Police Officer
(35 minutes later)
PARIS — A police captain and his companion were fatally stabbed at their home in a small town northwest of Paris on Monday evening, and within hours the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the murders. PARIS — A police captain was fatally stabbed and his companion was also killed at their home in a small town northwest of Paris on Monday evening, and within hours the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the murders.
The police captain, who was not otherwise identified, was outside his home in Magnanville when he was stabbed by an unidentified assailant, who appeared to have then entered the house and took the captain’s companion and small son hostage, according to a statement published on the website of the French Interior Ministry. The police captain, who was not otherwise identified, was outside his home in Magnanville when he was stabbed by an unidentified assailant, who appeared to have then entered the house and took the captain’s companion and 3-year-old son hostage, according to a statement published on the website of the French Interior Ministry and a statement from President François Hollande.
Members of an elite French police unit arrived and raided the home. They fatally shot the attacker, found the woman dead and rescued the boy. The statement added that the woman was an employee of the ministry. Members of an elite French police unit arrived and raided the home. They fatally shot the attacker, found the woman dead and rescued the boy. The statement added that the woman was an employee of the Interior Ministry.
President François Hollande, who called the killing “a cowardly murder” in a statement issued late Monday, said he would be briefed on the case early Tuesday and that the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, would go to Magnanville on Tuesday morning. A statement issued in Arabic by the Islamic State-linked Amaq News Agency said: “Islamic State fighter kills deputy chief of the police station in the city of Les Mureaux and his wife with blade weapons,” according to a translation provided by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist websites.
It is the second attack during Ramadan this year that has been linked to the Islamic State. The first was the shooting on Sunday in Orlando, in which 49 died, making it the worst mass casualty shooting in American history. Before he was killed by the police, the gunman, Omar Mateen, pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State.
Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims dedicated to fasting and prayer, has historically been a time when both Al Qaeda and now the Islamic State have escalated attacks. In his annual, pre-Ramadan speech, an Islamic State spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani — who had not issued a statement in approximately seven months — re-emerged to call on the group’s followers to carry out assaults in Europe and America.
“The smallest action you do in the heart of their land is dearer to us than the largest action by us,” Mr. Adnani declared in the audio speech, which was uploaded to Telegram and Twitter on May 21.
Mr. Hollande termed the attack “a cowardly murder” in a statement issued late Monday, saying he would be briefed on the case early Tuesday and that the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, would travel on Tuesday morning to the area where the killings took place.
Magnanville is about 35 miles from central Paris.Magnanville is about 35 miles from central Paris.
With the 2016 EURO Soccer tournament underway in France and multiple warnings of the possibility of terrorist attacks during the monthlong event, the authorities have been on alert for attacks. Extraordinary measures have been put in place to ensure that the crowds of visitors at the soccer matches will be safe. With the Euro 2016 soccer tournament underway in France and multiple warnings of the possibility of terrorist attacks during the monthlong event, the authorities have been on alert for possible attacks. Extraordinary measures have been put in place to ensure that the crowds of visitors at the soccer matches will be safe.
Much of the public focus has been on avoiding a repeat of the sort of attacks that killed 130 people in and near Paris on Nov. 13. In that case, a network of former Islamic State fighters from Belgium and France staged the attacks along with a few people who expressed loyalty to the extremist group.Much of the public focus has been on avoiding a repeat of the sort of attacks that killed 130 people in and near Paris on Nov. 13. In that case, a network of former Islamic State fighters from Belgium and France staged the attacks along with a few people who expressed loyalty to the extremist group.
However, the other risk and perhaps the one that is harder to protect against are attacks staged by so-called lone wolves, people who act alone, sometimes with the encouragement of the Islamic State and sometimes not. They can strike almost anywhere and are harder for the authorities to detect. The Islamic State has called on people loyal to them, regardless of whether they have gone to Syria or Iraq to fight, to stage such attacks. However, perhaps the risk that is harder to protect against are the lone-wolf attacks encouraged by the Islamic State. Such would-be jihadists are harder for the authorities to detect.
A similar case took place in June 2015 when Yassine Salhi, an employee at a small trucking company, beheaded his boss and attempted to set off an explosion at an American-owned chemical and gas factory near Lyon. Mr. Salhi appears to have had a friend who had gone to Syria to join the Islamic State and he sent pictures of the beheading to him. A similar case arose in June 2015 when an employee at a small trucking company beheaded his boss and attempted to set off an explosion at an American-owned chemical and gas factory near Lyon. The man, Yassine Salhi, appears to have had a friend who had gone to Syria to join the Islamic State, and Mr. Salhi sent him pictures of the beheading.
In December, Mr. Salhi killed himself in prison while awaiting trial. Mr. Salhi killed himself in prison in December while awaiting trial.
The beheading, like the stabbing on Monday evening, took place during Ramadan, a holy period of fasting for Muslims. The beheading, like the stabbing on Monday evening, took place during Ramadan.