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Armed Police Investigating French Decapitation Terror Attack Swoop on Former Home of Suspected Islamist and Remove Woman and Child After Yassine Salhi is Accused of Beheading His Boss
- Shocking attack took place at the headquarters of American-owned Air Products close to Lyon in southern France
- A severed head covered in Arabic writing was then placed on the factory's fence along with two Islamist flags
- Suspect then drove through factory gates, crashing into gas cannisters and causing blasts that injured onlookers
- Alleged killer has been named as father of three Yassine Salhi, 30, with the victim believed to be his employer
- The company both men worked for is understood to have regularly delivered to the Air Products factory
- Delivery driver's wife later claimed that Salhi was a 'normal Muslim' who left for work as usual at 7am today
Daily Mail UK, 26 June, 2015
Police swooped on the apartment building in Saint-Priest (right), near the city of Lyon, just hours after the 30-year-old delivery driver was arrested on suspicion of decapitating his boss, writing Arabic slogans on the severed head and hanging it on a fence outside the nearby headquarters of Air Products (left).
Salhi is accused of going on to crash his Ford Fusion delivery van through the factory's gates before crashing it into several large gas cannisters left in the car park, apparently in the hope they would explode and destroy the entire factory complex.
Four people are in custody in connection to a beheading and explosion at a gas factory in south-eastern France - and police are still searching buildings for evidence.
Heavily armed police investigating this morning's brutal terror attack in France have removed a woman and child from the home of Yassine Salhi - the suspected Islamist accused of beheading his boss and trying to blow up the American-owned gas factory.
He was known to factory personnel because he came in regularly for deliveries, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said.
Police swooped on the apartment building in Saint-Priest, in the suburbs of the city of Lyon, just hours after the 30-year-old delivery driver was arrested on suspicion of writing Arabic slogans on his employer's severed head and hanging it on a fence outside the nearby headquarters of Air Products.
Salhi is accused of going on to crash his Ford Fusion delivery van through the factory's gates before ramming it into several large gas cannisters left in the car park - apparently in the hope they would explode and destroy the entire factory complex.
The explosions were relatively small, however, leaving just two factory workers with non life-threatening injuries.
The murdered man - who French media say owned the delivery company Salhi worked for - is believed to have been killed elsewhere before his corpse was dumped at the factory site in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier and his head impaled on a fence 30 feet away surrounded by homemade Islamist flags.
Speaking before the raid on her home, Salhi's wife described her husband as a 'normal Muslim' who left for work as usual at 7am this morning. 'My heart stopped when I heard he was a suspect....I expected him this afternoon,' the unnamed woman told French radio station Europe 1.
Salhi - who is understood to have been known to security services since at least 2006 - reportedly told arresting officers that he is a member of the Islamic State terror group. He is believed not to have a criminal record and an investigation into his 'possible radicalisation' was dropped in 2008.
Sickening: The victim's head (which MailOnline has chosen to disguise in this image) was found hanging on a fence near the factory's entrance. Two homemade Islamist flags - one white and one black, both with Arabic inscriptions - were found alongside it
Terror raid: French special forces escort an unidentified woman and child as they leave Yassine Salhi's apartment building today
Under cover: French police cordon off the area where the decapitated body was found at the Air Products headquarters
Location: The attack took place in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, close to the city of Lyon in the south east of France
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Suicide Bomb Rips Through Kuwaiti Mosque After Friday Prayers Killing at Least 27 Worshippers as ISIS Claims Responsibility
- Bomber kills 27 and injures 227 in attack on Shiite mosque in Kuwait City
- Attack carried out when mosque was packed for Ramadan Friday prayers
- Witnesses said bomber walked among worshippers and detonated device
26 June, 2015
At least 27 worshippers have been killed today a further 227 were injured after an ISIS suicide bomber struck at a packed Kuwaiti mosque after Friday prayers.
Shocking photos show dozens of dead and wounded Muslims who were all observing the holy month of Ramadan in the Al-Imam al-Sadeq Shiite mosque in Kuwait City.
Witnesses said worshippers were standing shoulder-to-shoulder in group prayer when the bomb ripped through the building.
Carnage: Medics and security forces gather inside the Imam Sadiq Mosque attempt to secure the scene following the devastating blast
Rushed to safety: Rescue workers carry out one seriously injured man from the mosque attack, where as many as 25 worshipers were killed
The attacker has reportedly been named and is thought to be a 25-year-old Saudi national
The ISIS-affiliated group in Saudi Arabia, calling itself Najd Province, said its militant Abu Suleiman al-Muwahhid carried out the suicide bombing.
CCTV footage has emerged of the bomber arriving outside the mosque in a white car. He calmly gets out of the car, walks slowly up the steps and inside the mosque.
Dressed in a white dishdasha and matching kheffiyah in order not to raise suspicion, the bomber heads towards the prayer room.
His white thobe slightly bulging at the sides due to the explosive vest concealed underneath his clothes.
He was seen walking in to the back of the mosque during prayers, before standing among his victims and blowing himself up.
The group said the mosque was targeted because they believe it was spreading Shiite teachings among Sunni Muslims. ISIS, a radical Sunni Muslim group, considers Shiites to be heretics.
The final moments of footage show the bomber approaching the main prayer room. His robe can be seen slighty bulging at the sides from the deadly explosive vest concealed underneath
The group said the mosque was targeted because they believe it was spreading Shiite teachings among Sunni Muslims. ISIS, a radical Sunni Muslim group, considers Shiites to be heretics.
Kuwait's health minister said that 27 people had been killed and a further 227 worshippers were badly injured in the horrific attack.
Kuwaiti Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has reportedly visited the Imam Sadiq Mosque following a suicide bombing in al-Sawaber.
This week ISIS promised 'paradise' and 'rewards in heaven' for those who carry out Ramadan attacks.
Najd Province claimed similar bombings against Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.
Last month, the group claimed two deadly bombings against Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia, both of which took place during the weekly Friday prayers.
Aftermath: Mourners climb through the rubble and dust in the search for bodies after a suicide bomber killed 25 in Kuwait
Crime scene: Police and Kuwaiti officials survey the scene at the mosque, which was itself badly damaged by the blast
ISIS has also claimed several such attacks against Shiites in Yemen, the last of which was just a week ago.
On June 17, it claimed five simultaneous bombings at Shiite mosques and offices in Sanaa that killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens. But Friday's attack is the first of its kind in oil-rich Kuwait.
One eyewitness said today that he saw at least 10 dead bodies lying close together.
Police formed a cordon around the mosque's complex immediately after the explosion, banning people from entering or gathering near the area.
Ambulances could be seen ferrying the wounded from the site.
Hassan al-Haddad, 21, said: 'We couldn't see anything, so we went straight to the wounded and tried to carry them out. We left the dead'.
Abdullah al-Saffar, who was at the mosque, said the explosion took place just after midday Friday prayers.
Friday midday prayers are typically the most crowded of the week, and attendance increases during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which started last week.
Another witness, Ahmad al-Shawaf, said worshippers were standing shoulder to shoulder in group prayer when the explosion struck near the door of the mosque, behind some of the worshippers.
Disbelief: An injured man is carried away by friends as other shock Kuwaitis discuss what they saw
Al-Shawaf said the explosion took place near the end of a second prayer that is traditional to Shiites and that follows the main midday Friday prayer.
He said witnesses standing behind him said they saw a man walk in, stand in the back with other congregants and detonate his device.
Mohammed al-Faili, 32, said that his 70 year-old father was killed in the explosion and two of his brothers were also wounded.
He said he was not at the mosque at the time of the explosion but was heading to the morgue to identify his father's body.
Kuwaiti Justice, Religious Endowment and Islamic Affairs Minister Yacoub al-Sanna described the attack as a 'terrorist and cowardly action which threatens our nation and works at tearing apart the national unity.'
Al-Sanna told the official state agency KUNA that, the government would take all necessary measure to ensure protection of houses of worship. 'Kuwait was and will remain the oasis of security and safety to all components of the Kuwaiti society and sects,' he said.