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ISIS is claiming responsibility for beheading a French priest in a terrorist attack in Normandy.
During an early mass on Tuesday morning, two terrorists burst into a Saint-Etienne-de-Rouvray church, taking the congregation as hostages. During the attack, an 84-year-old priest's throat was slit and a nun was injured.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Paris explained that the two men entered through the back door of the church, just after 9:00 a.m. They seized the priest and the congregation, which was comprised of two nuns and two parishioners.
A source told the Daily Mail, “A third nun escaped and raised the alarm, and anti-terrorist officer were on the scene within minutes."
"It appears that the priest who was celebrating the service was attacked first, and has his throat cut,” the source noted. “The area around the church was sealed off, and then armed officers appeared with their weapons. I heard at least a dozen shots.”
The parishioners were held hostage until 11:00 a.m., when the terrorists were shot and killed.
Reports state the two attackers shouted “Allahu Akbar” as they ran out of the church. ISIS' Amaq news claims the attack was carried out by two ISIS soldiers in response to the call to target countries involved in the US-led coalition which has retaken half of ISIS' territory over the last two years.
Rev. Jacques Hamel, the murdered priest, was well-known in the area. An employee of a local beauty parlor told BBC the priest was a respected part of the community.
“My family has lived here for 35 years and we have always known him. He was someone who was treasured by the community. He was very discreet and didn’t like to draw attention to himself," she said.
One of the terrorists was a local resident who left for Syria to try and join ISIS. He was arrested in Turkey and served time in France for terrorist offences. He was released on March 22, serving less than a year of his prison sentence.
The few stipulations outlined in his probation included that he live with his parents, wear an electronic tag, and report to his local police station. He was allowed to roam free between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. every day.
The church that was attacked was allegedly on a known ISIS “hit list” that has been found on a suspected ISIS extremist last year.
Many have pointed out the massive oversight to allow a convicted terrorist to be allowed to live, mostly unobserved, so close to a place that was a known target of ISIS.
The lenient method France has used to deal with convicted terrorists has been widely criticized, specifically because it allows convicted terrorists so much freedom. France is still reeling from the terrorist attack in Nice two weeks ago that killed 84 people during a Bastille Day celebration.