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France Terrorist Attack Leaves One Decapitated at Factory French Authorities Hold Suspect in Beheading and Explosion at Chemical Plant
(about 7 hours later)
SAINT-PRIEST, France — A delivery man who had once been under surveillance by the French authorities for connections to radical Islamist groups drove into an American-owned chemical plant near the southeastern city of Lyon on Friday morning, decapitated his employer and set off an explosion in what the French authorities characterized as a terrorist attack. ST.-PRIEST, France — A deliveryman who French security officials say once had links to radical Islamist groups drove his truck into an American-owned chemical plant near Lyon on Friday, set off an explosion and, in a macabre twist, mounted his boss’s severed head on the plant’s gate.
The interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, identified the suspect, who was apprehended, as Yassine Salhi, who lives in Saint-Priest, a small town outside Lyon. Flags were placed on either side of the gruesome display, French officials said.
Security sources had identified Mr. Salhi as having connections to radical Salafists, but surveillance on him was dropped in 2008. The reason was not immediately clear, but French intelligence officials have been overwhelmed in recent years as they try to keep tabs on hundreds of young Muslims who have gone abroad to fight jihad with the Islamic State, which has taken over large areas of Syria and Iraq. The interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, identified the suspect, who was apprehended, as Yassine Salhi, 35, a resident of nearby St.-Priest, a small town outside Lyon, in southeastern France.
There was no indication that Mr. Salhi was aligned with the Islamic State, but after entering the chemical plant, apparently in an authorized vehicle, he placed the head of his victim atop a gate and hung a flag on either side with the Muslim profession of faith, according to François Molins, the Paris prosecutor investigating the events. Mr. Salhi was known to the employees and was waived in. He parked his truck at the end of an alley and for a few minutes was out of the range of security cameras. Then his truck could be seen speeding toward a hangar on the site, and there was an explosion that destroyed much of the structure, said François Molins, the Paris prosecutor.
After young Frenchmen who professed allegiance to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda killed 17 people in attacks on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and on a Jewish grocery store in Paris in January, the authorities here and elsewhere in Europe have grown increasingly concerned that citizens who have gone abroad to fight jihad will return to stage attacks, or that Muslims who never left for jihad will be inspired to do so by appeals over the Internet. Firefighters and emergency workers arrived on the scene within four minutes. As they were assessing the damage and securing the area, they went into a second hangar that held canisters of liquid air, acetone and gas. They found Mr. Salhi trying to open one of the canisters. The firefighters apprehended him and turned him over to the police.
The chemical plant was attacked on the same day that terror attacks killed at least 37 people in Tunisia and at least 25 in Kuwait. There was immediate speculation that they were part of coordinated effort, perhaps orchestrated by the Islamic State, to sow mayhem during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Near Mr. Salhi’s destroyed vehicle they found a decapitated body on the ground with a knife nearby, and on the plant’s gate, the severed head and a cloth with the Muslim declaration of faith written on it: “There is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet.”
Antiterrorism prosecutors in Paris said they had opened an investigation into what they called an “assassination and attempted assassinations in an organized group with a terrorist undertaking.” However, given the work connection between Mr. Salhi and his victim, there may have been several motivations for the attack. It is not clear if the victim was killed before being beheaded and driven into the site, or if he was killed on the site when Mr. Salhi was out of the range of the security cameras. Mr. Molins described the victim as a 54-year-old man who lived in the area and who had employed Mr. Salhi in March.
Mr. Molins said four people had been arrested in all: Mr. Salhi, his wife, his sister and another individual. Security officials had identified Mr. Salhi as having connections to Salafists, but surveillance on him was stopped in 2008. Salafists practice a fundamentalist form of Islam. The reason for stopping the surveillance was not immediately clear, but French intelligence officials have been overwhelmed in recent years as they have tried to monitor hundreds of young Muslims who have gone abroad to fight alongside the Islamic State and other groups. Mr. Cazeneuve emphasized that while Mr. Salhi was known to have links to Salafists, he was not believed to have links with terrorist groups.
Mr. Salhi had moved to the area only recently, according to his neighbors and his wife, who was reached by telephone by the television channel Europe 1 before the police detained her. She sounded confused and shocked by the news that her husband had been involved in an attack at the local chemical installation, operated by Air Products. There was no indication that Mr. Salhi was aligned with the Islamic State. However, after Frenchmen who professed allegiance to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda killed 17 people in attacks on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and on a Jewish grocery store in Paris in January, the authorities here and elsewhere in Europe have grown increasingly concerned that citizens who have gone abroad to fight will return to stage attacks, or that Muslims who never left for jihad will be inspired by appeals over the Internet to act.
The chemical plant was attacked on the same day that terrorist attacks killed at least 38 people in Tunisia and at least 25 in Kuwait. There was immediate speculation that the attacks were part of a coordinated effort, perhaps orchestrated by the Islamic State, to sow mayhem during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Antiterrorism prosecutors in Paris said they had opened an investigation into murder and attempted murder “in an organized group with a terrorist undertaking.” However, given the work connection between Mr. Salhi and the victim, there may have been additional motivations for the attack.
It is similarly unclear why the plant was attacked. Although the initial conjecture was that it was because it was an American company, it seemed that Mr. Salhi’s interest might have been in the explosive substances on the grounds.
Mr. Molins said four people had been arrested in all: Mr. Salhi, his wife, his sister and another person.
Mr. Salhi had moved to the area only recently, according to his neighbors. Everyone interviewed, including his wife, who was reached by telephone by the radio station Europe 1 before the police detained her, said they found it hard to believe he would have been involved in an attack.
In the interview, his wife sounded confused and shocked that her husband had been involved in an attack at the local chemical installation, operated by Air Products.
“What did he want to do in this chemical factory?” she asked, adding that he had gone to work as usual that morning. “We are celebrating Ramadan. We have three children and a normal family life.”“What did he want to do in this chemical factory?” she asked, adding that he had gone to work as usual that morning. “We are celebrating Ramadan. We have three children and a normal family life.”
Prime Minister Manuel Valls ordered tightened security and “reinforced vigilance” on “sensitive” sites in the region, which is about 300 miles southeast of Paris. A neighbor, Abdel Baiya, 53, who works at the Édouard-Herriot river port nearby, described Mr. Salhi as “a very normal person, a family man who played with kids out here,” pointing to the patch of grass outside the building.
President François Hollande said Mr. Salhi had tried to use gas canisters to set off an explosion. However, later information from Mr. Molins, the Paris prosecutor, whose staff had interviewed Air Products employees who were present during the attack, left unclear whether Mr. Salhi had a bomb in his car that exploded and destroyed one of the hangars where chemicals were kept on the site. It did not ignite a larger explosion. “In the six months that he has been here, I saw him two, three times,” Mr. Baiya added. “He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who wanted to meet lots of new people.”
Mr. Salhi was caught by firefighters a few minutes later in a second hangar, where he was attempting to open a canister. The Lyon area, like many urban centers in France, is home to a large number of Muslims. The rector of Lyon’s Grand Mosque said there were 150,000 to 200,000 in the urban area. While a handful of the mosques practice the Salafist form of Islam, the vast majority do not. Another Muslim official in the area said he could count on one hand the number of Salafist mosques.
Mr. Hollande said, “There is no doubt about the intention, which was to cause an explosion.” Mr. Salhi did not attend a mosque in St.-Priest, said an official at the local Muslim organization, the Association for Peace for All. Another Muslim official said Mr. Salhi went to the Salafist-leaning mosque at Vénissieux, a town whose Muslim community has been noted for having more conservative views as well as some residents who have tried to go to Syria.
“Everybody remembers what happened in our country, and not just in our country,” he said, referring to the attacks at Charlie Hebdo and the kosher grocery. He said it was important not to “give in to fear” and not to create “useless divisions.” President François Hollande, who spoke from Brussels, where he was when the news of the attack first broke, urged the country to rally together. “Everybody remembers what happened in our country, and not just in our country,” Mr. Hollande said, referring to the attacks at Charlie Hebdo and at the kosher grocery. He said it was important not to “give in to fear” and not to create “useless divisions.”
By evening, four police officers were guarding the apartment building where Mr. Salhi lived while investigators were inside searching for clues. Neighbors who were not allowed to re-enter the building during the search congregated outside and talked about the man they described as reserved but normal.
“Honestly, he seemed like a very normal person. A family man who played with kids out here,” said Abdel Baiya, 53, who works at the Edouard Herriot port nearby, pointing to the patch of grass outside the building.
“In the six months that he has been here, I saw him two, three times,” he added. “He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who wanted to meet lots of new people.”
The Lyon area, like most urban centers in France, is home to a large number of Muslims, with the rector of Lyon’s Grand Mosque saying there are between 150,000 and 200,000 in the urban area and dozens of mosques. While a handful of the mosques practice a Salafist form of Islam, which is strict and fundamentalist, the vast majority do not. Another Muslim official in the area said he could count on one hand the number of Salafist mosques.
Mr. Salhi did not attend a mosque in Saint-Priest, said an official at the local Muslim organization, the Association for Peace for All. Another Muslim official said Mr. Salhi went to the Salafist-leaning mosque at Vénissieux, a town whose Muslim community has been noted having more conservative views as well as some residents who have attempted to go to Syria.