Once again France is in mourning after people professing allegiance to the so-called Islamic State struck again ... Isil opened a new front in its war
with the West by murdering a French priest on Tuesday in the first such
attack on a Christian church in Europe.
"They filmed themselves. It was like a sermon in Arabic around the altar," the nun said.
One of the nuns managed to escape and call police, who, upon arrival, tried to negotiate with the hostage-takers through a small door.
Mr Molins said police were unable to launch an assault on the church as three hostages were lined up in front of the door.
Two nuns and one worshipper then exited the church followed by the two attackers, one carrying a handgun, who charged police shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) before being shot.
On 26 July 2016, in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, northern France, two Islamic State terrorists killed 86-year-old priest Jacques Hamel[2][3] (born 1930 in Darnétal[4]) of the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, during Mass. Two nuns and two churchgoers were taken hostage.[2] The attackers were shot and killed by Rouen's BRI police after they left the church.[5] 100 years after Poziere battle: 2016_Normandy_church_attack
President Francois Hollande, visiting the scene, in Saint Etienne-du-Rouvray, said the attackers had committed a "cowardly assassination" and France would fight IS "by all means".
Pope Francis decried the "pain and horror of this absurd violence".
Adel Kermiche, 19, has been identified as one of the terrorists - A Smiling Assassin
Normandy
siege: Knifemen ‘shouted Daesh and slit 86-year-old priest’s throat’
after taking nuns hostage in church before being shot dead Telegraph
The New York Times: “The pace and scope of the killing are dizzying. Some 300 members of families blown apart by bombs as they celebrated the end of Ramadan in Baghdad. Forty-nine dead at the Istanbul airport, 40 more in Afghanistan. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, three students at American universities and one local woman brutalized in the diplomatic quarter of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The bodies piled up on a bus in Somalia, at a mosque and video club in Cameroon, at a shrine in Saudi Arabia. All that carnage was in a single week — a single week of summer in what feels like an endless stream of terror attacks. Orlando and Beirut. Paris and Nice and St. Etienne-du-Rouvray, France. Germany and Japan and Egypt. Each bomb or bullet tearing holes in homes and communities. We stopped the clock on two weeks in March when there were high-profile attacks that commanded headlines — and attacks in places where they have become almost routine. In that period, we counted 247 men, women and children cut down by Islamist extremists in mass killings carried out at soft targets in six countries…The snapshots we collected show the moments that make up a life. A bride in her gown, sitting on the floor and eating a snack.
The window over the main door of the Bishop’s Palace in Krakow is known as the Pope’s Window. It was from here that John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyla, used to address his followers when visiting the city where he had served as archbishop during the communist regime. This week, a different pontiff is occupying the window. Pope Francis is in Poland for the church’s World Youth Day festival (actually a week, between July 25th and 31st), which is expected to draw over 1m visitors. Although the more conservative pope died in 2005, it is not clear whose is the greater presence. Asked by Polish television on Monday night about security at the event, a government official said there was a “pact with Holy Father John Paul II” to protect it. That is from Cross Purposes via The Economist, the article is interesting more generally. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: the important European thinkers of the next generation will be religious, not left-wing and secular.
- ^ "Priest Killed In French Hostage Knife Attack". Sky News. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Priest killed after hostages taken in Normandy church, French police say". The Guardian. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ^ "EN DIRECT - Prêtre égorgé près de Rouen : les deux terroristes se sont réclamés de Daech". Le Figaro. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ^ "Abbé Jacques Hamel Prêtre auxiliaire de la paroisse Saint-Etienne de Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray". Rouen Catholique. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g "France church attack: Priest killed in hostage-taking near Rouen". BBC News. Retrieved 26 July2016.
- ^ a b "Les terroristes ont mis le prêtre à genoux" : la sœur qui a lancé l'alerte évoque une scène d'"horreur" Closer. 26 July 2016
- ^ Chazan, David (26 July 2016). "Isil knifemen 'shouted Daesh and slit priest's throat' in Normandy after taking nuns hostage in church". the Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ^ Willsher, Kim (26 July 2016). "Normandy church attackers who killed priest 'claimed to be from Isis'". The Guardian.
- ^ a b Snowdon, Kathryn (26 July 2016). "Priest Killed After Men Armed With Knives Took Hostages In French Church". huffingtonpost.co.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ^ Premier. "Church attack: Vatican condemns "barbarous killing" - premier".
- ^ "Deux terroristes se réclamant de Daech, selon François Hollande (Réactions)". L'Indépendant.
- ^ Valls, Manuel. "status". Twitter. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
CODA: ISIS has
adapted its approach in the digital space to resist efforts aimed
at disrupting and restricting its use of the internet, some experts say. A new
report, made public today, details the items in ISIS's digital toolbox that the
group uses to resist these disruptive attempts. The report, titled “Tech for
Jihad: Dissecting Jihadists’ Digital Toolbox” and released by Flashpoint, an intelligence
firm, notes that while “most communication platforms lack the sophistication
necessary to ensure sufficient security … today’s jihadists constantly seek
alternative ways to advance their agendas and communicate securely.” The
report explains 36 of the most noteworthy tools and technologies leveraged by
groups such as ISIS conducted by examining primary sources from the Deep and
Dark Web. Most of the technologies, the report notes, have been used long
before ISIS developed a public presence.