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| ISIS Says Its ‘Soldiers’ Attacked Church in France, Killing Priest | ISIS Says Its ‘Soldiers’ Attacked Church in France, Killing Priest |
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| ST.-ÉTIENNE-DU-ROUVRAY, France — Attendance was sparse at the 9 a.m. Mass on Tuesday at the Église St.-Étienne, a 17th-century church in a working-class town in Normandy. Many parishioners were on vacation; so was the parish priest. | ST.-ÉTIENNE-DU-ROUVRAY, France — Attendance was sparse at the 9 a.m. Mass on Tuesday at the Église St.-Étienne, a 17th-century church in a working-class town in Normandy. Many parishioners were on vacation; so was the parish priest. |
| Mass was ending around 9:30 a.m. when two young men with knives burst in. They forced the auxiliary priest, the Rev. Jacques Hamel, 85, to kneel. When he resisted, they slit his throat. They held several worshipers and at least one nun hostage, while another nun escaped. Officers from a specialized police unit descended on the church. A short while later, officers shot the young men dead as they emerged from the church. | Mass was ending around 9:30 a.m. when two young men with knives burst in. They forced the auxiliary priest, the Rev. Jacques Hamel, 85, to kneel. When he resisted, they slit his throat. They held several worshipers and at least one nun hostage, while another nun escaped. Officers from a specialized police unit descended on the church. A short while later, officers shot the young men dead as they emerged from the church. |
| The brutality in St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray, a suburb of Rouen in northern France, was the latest in a series of assaults that have left Europe stunned, fearful and angry. The Islamic State took responsibility for the killing. Two of its “soldiers,” it said, had attacked a church “in response to the call to target Crusader coalition states.” By killing a priest as he celebrated Mass, the group framed the assault as an act of religious war between Muslims and Christians. | The brutality in St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray, a suburb of Rouen in northern France, was the latest in a series of assaults that have left Europe stunned, fearful and angry. The Islamic State took responsibility for the killing. Two of its “soldiers,” it said, had attacked a church “in response to the call to target Crusader coalition states.” By killing a priest as he celebrated Mass, the group framed the assault as an act of religious war between Muslims and Christians. |
| Whether it will be perceived by the French as a struggle between religions and cultures is less clear. For now, some French politicians seemed willing to take the bait and use the language of sectarian and cultural division. But the Roman Catholic Church, the French government and several professors said churches were, above all, a symbol of France, much like other iconic French milieus attacked by the Islamic militants, who also reject secular life. | Whether it will be perceived by the French as a struggle between religions and cultures is less clear. For now, some French politicians seemed willing to take the bait and use the language of sectarian and cultural division. But the Roman Catholic Church, the French government and several professors said churches were, above all, a symbol of France, much like other iconic French milieus attacked by the Islamic militants, who also reject secular life. |
| “The history of France is very associated with Catholics, and to strike a church is to strike one of those elements that constitutes the identity of France,” said Guillaume Goubert, the editor of La Croix, a Catholic daily newspaper. | “The history of France is very associated with Catholics, and to strike a church is to strike one of those elements that constitutes the identity of France,” said Guillaume Goubert, the editor of La Croix, a Catholic daily newspaper. |
| The attack was the fourth linked to the Islamic State in Western Europe in less than two weeks, after a Bastille Day rampage in Nice that killed 84 people; an ax and knife attack on a train in Würzburg, Germany, that injured five; and a suicide bombing at a wine bar in Ansbach, Germany. | The attack was the fourth linked to the Islamic State in Western Europe in less than two weeks, after a Bastille Day rampage in Nice that killed 84 people; an ax and knife attack on a train in Würzburg, Germany, that injured five; and a suicide bombing at a wine bar in Ansbach, Germany. |
| “We must realize that the terrorists will not give up until we stop them,” President François Hollande said after racing to St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray and meeting with the priest’s family and the town’s mayor, Hubert Wulfranc. “It is our will. The French must know that they are threatened, that we are not the only country — Germany is, as well as others — and that their strength lies in their unity.” | “We must realize that the terrorists will not give up until we stop them,” President François Hollande said after racing to St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray and meeting with the priest’s family and the town’s mayor, Hubert Wulfranc. “It is our will. The French must know that they are threatened, that we are not the only country — Germany is, as well as others — and that their strength lies in their unity.” |
| By the evening, one man was in custody, and the police were conducting raids and homing in on the possibility that both attackers were from the area. | By the evening, one man was in custody, and the police were conducting raids and homing in on the possibility that both attackers were from the area. |
| Redwan Chentouf, 18, said he went to secondary school with one of the men believed to have been involved in the attack, whom he identified as Adel Kermiche, 19. The newspaper Le Monde, which identified the teenager as Adel K., said he had tried twice last year to enter Syria, and was placed under electronic monitoring by the police in March. The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, confirmed the young man’s identity and said that he was monitored and that he had made two attempts to go to Syria but was stopped. | Redwan Chentouf, 18, said he went to secondary school with one of the men believed to have been involved in the attack, whom he identified as Adel Kermiche, 19. The newspaper Le Monde, which identified the teenager as Adel K., said he had tried twice last year to enter Syria, and was placed under electronic monitoring by the police in March. The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, confirmed the young man’s identity and said that he was monitored and that he had made two attempts to go to Syria but was stopped. |
| Mr. Chentouf recalled: “At the last Ramadan, he said we should all go to Syria. He tried to push propaganda on us.” Mr. Chentouf said Mr. Kermiche had been a normal teenager, who drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes. He said he last saw Mr. Kermiche on Saturday at a subway station in Rouen. He was wearing a long robe and had a beard. “He was perfectly calm,” Mr. Chentouf said. | Mr. Chentouf recalled: “At the last Ramadan, he said we should all go to Syria. He tried to push propaganda on us.” Mr. Chentouf said Mr. Kermiche had been a normal teenager, who drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes. He said he last saw Mr. Kermiche on Saturday at a subway station in Rouen. He was wearing a long robe and had a beard. “He was perfectly calm,” Mr. Chentouf said. |
| The attack underscored the vulnerability of France, which has sustained three major terrorist attacks in 19 months: an assault on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and other locations around Paris in January 2015, which killed 17 people; coordinated attacks on a soccer stadium, the Bataclan concert hall, and cafes and restaurants in and around Paris on Nov. 13, which killed 130 people; and the Nice truck attack. | The attack underscored the vulnerability of France, which has sustained three major terrorist attacks in 19 months: an assault on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and other locations around Paris in January 2015, which killed 17 people; coordinated attacks on a soccer stadium, the Bataclan concert hall, and cafes and restaurants in and around Paris on Nov. 13, which killed 130 people; and the Nice truck attack. |
| “I understand this feeling of helplessness, but if the French people absorb this truth that it is a long war which will require resilience and resistance, we need to form a block and stay united,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls told the French television channel TF1. | “I understand this feeling of helplessness, but if the French people absorb this truth that it is a long war which will require resilience and resistance, we need to form a block and stay united,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls told the French television channel TF1. |
| This was hardly the first time that the Islamic State and other Islamist extremists have singled out Christians. But in the past, the Christians were primarily in the Middle East, not Europe. Christians in Iraq were repeatedly targeted both in Baghdad and in the area around Mosul — and that was before the Islamic State expelled every Christian from Mosul and took it over in June 2014. | This was hardly the first time that the Islamic State and other Islamist extremists have singled out Christians. But in the past, the Christians were primarily in the Middle East, not Europe. Christians in Iraq were repeatedly targeted both in Baghdad and in the area around Mosul — and that was before the Islamic State expelled every Christian from Mosul and took it over in June 2014. |
| France has been concerned about the threat against churches for some time. In April 2015, the authorities arrested Sid Ahmed Ghlam, 24, an Algerian computer science student. He had amassed a trove of weapons in a Paris apartment and was thought to be planning an attack on at least one church. He was a suspect in the killing of a 32-year-old woman, Aurélie Châtelain, whose body was found in a parked car in Villejuif, a Paris suburb. | France has been concerned about the threat against churches for some time. In April 2015, the authorities arrested Sid Ahmed Ghlam, 24, an Algerian computer science student. He had amassed a trove of weapons in a Paris apartment and was thought to be planning an attack on at least one church. He was a suspect in the killing of a 32-year-old woman, Aurélie Châtelain, whose body was found in a parked car in Villejuif, a Paris suburb. |
| Mr. Ghlam had been ordered by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian militant who went on to help organize the November attacks on Paris, to open fire on a church in Villejuif, according to a report by French antiterrorism police, but the attack was never carried out. | Mr. Ghlam had been ordered by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian militant who went on to help organize the November attacks on Paris, to open fire on a church in Villejuif, according to a report by French antiterrorism police, but the attack was never carried out. |
| Since the Villejuif plot was foiled, many houses of worship in France, including mosques and synagogues, have been on a heightened state of alert. The country has roughly 45,000 Catholic churches, so protecting all of them is a difficult task. | Since the Villejuif plot was foiled, many houses of worship in France, including mosques and synagogues, have been on a heightened state of alert. The country has roughly 45,000 Catholic churches, so protecting all of them is a difficult task. |
| Vincent Fauvel, a spokesman for the French bishops conference, said in a telephone interview that he was not aware of any specific threat against the Église St.-Étienne before the attack. | Vincent Fauvel, a spokesman for the French bishops conference, said in a telephone interview that he was not aware of any specific threat against the Église St.-Étienne before the attack. |
| St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray has many retired chemical and metal workers and is a peaceful community, residents said, with a substantial immigrant population. The parish priest is of Congolese ancestry; the town’s mosque opened in 2000 on land donated by the Catholic parish. | St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray has many retired chemical and metal workers and is a peaceful community, residents said, with a substantial immigrant population. The parish priest is of Congolese ancestry; the town’s mosque opened in 2000 on land donated by the Catholic parish. |
| Pascal Quilan, who works at a funeral home near the church, said that around 9:30 a.m.: “I heard several gunshots. Then, loads of police.” He added, referring to Father Hamel: “It’s a huge loss for the town. He was someone with lots of humility.” | Pascal Quilan, who works at a funeral home near the church, said that around 9:30 a.m.: “I heard several gunshots. Then, loads of police.” He added, referring to Father Hamel: “It’s a huge loss for the town. He was someone with lots of humility.” |
| The Rouen unit of the B.R.I., a police team that specializes in major crimes like armed robberies and kidnappings, “arrived extremely quickly and positioned itself around the church,” an Interior Ministry spokesman, Pierre-Henry Brandet, told reporters. | The Rouen unit of the B.R.I., a police team that specializes in major crimes like armed robberies and kidnappings, “arrived extremely quickly and positioned itself around the church,” an Interior Ministry spokesman, Pierre-Henry Brandet, told reporters. |
| At the Vatican, a spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said that Pope Francis was horrified at the “barbaric killing” of a priest and issued “the most severe condemnation of all forms of hatred.” | At the Vatican, a spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said that Pope Francis was horrified at the “barbaric killing” of a priest and issued “the most severe condemnation of all forms of hatred.” |
| Mr. Hollande told the pope on Tuesday “that when a priest is attacked, it is the whole of France that is hurt, and that all will be done to protect our churches and our places of worship,” the Élysée Palace said in a statement. | Mr. Hollande told the pope on Tuesday “that when a priest is attacked, it is the whole of France that is hurt, and that all will be done to protect our churches and our places of worship,” the Élysée Palace said in a statement. |
| The attack drew condemnation from across French society. Dalil Boubakeur, the former president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, called the attack “barbaric and criminal” and declared that “Muslims stand together behind the government to defend France and its institutions.” The Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions said that the attack “marks a new stage in the spread of terrorism in France” and that “the authorities and the population must now quickly adapt to this new emergency.” | |
| But the attack also renewed criticism of Mr. Hollande and his Socialist government from his political rivals. “We must be merciless,” Nicolas Sarkozy, Mr. Hollande’s predecessor as president and the leader of the opposition Republicans, said in a statement. “The legal quibbling, precautions and pretexts for insufficient action are not acceptable.” | But the attack also renewed criticism of Mr. Hollande and his Socialist government from his political rivals. “We must be merciless,” Nicolas Sarkozy, Mr. Hollande’s predecessor as president and the leader of the opposition Republicans, said in a statement. “The legal quibbling, precautions and pretexts for insufficient action are not acceptable.” |
| Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front who is expected to run for the presidency, said that both major parties had failed the country. “All those who have governed us for 30 years bear an immense responsibility,” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s revolting to watch them bickering!” | Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front who is expected to run for the presidency, said that both major parties had failed the country. “All those who have governed us for 30 years bear an immense responsibility,” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s revolting to watch them bickering!” |