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Cop killer's associates detained, attack posted on Facebook

Three associates of the man who murdered a police officer and his wife near Paris on Monday night have been taken into custody as details of the attack emerge. The murderer, Larossi Abballa, filmed his actions and posted them on Facebook, declaring his allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) armed group.

The scene of the attack
The scene of the attack Reuters TV
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Three men, aged 27, 29 and 44, were detained on Monday as Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve declared that he intended to "put out of action any possible accomplices".

One of them was jailed along with 25-year-old Abballa after being found guilty of a terrorist plot involving a Pakistan-based network in 2013.

Investigators revealed the names of the victims, police commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, 42, and his partner, Jessica Schneider, 36, who were both stabbed by Abballa.

Their three-year-old son was found shocked but not physically harmed after an anti-terror squad shot the attacker dead.

Posted on Facebook

As well as filming the murders and posting them on Facebook, Abballa declared that he was acting in response to a call from IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to "kill the non-believers, at home with their families".

"He knew his victim was a police officer," public prosecutor François Molins said when updating the media on the inquiry.

A list of potential targets, including police officers, journalists, prison wardens and rappers, was found at the house, along with three knives, one of them covered in blood.

"A new stage in the horror has been reached," French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

He predicted a long fight against terror, adding that 2,100 French residents are known to be involved in networks connected to Syria and Iraq 1,216 people are under investigation.

Police union representatives lobbied for measures to help them protect themselves, for example the right to carry a gun when off service, on a visit to the interior ministry on Tuesday.

"Police are targeted on two fronts," union representative Patrice Ribeiro told RFI. "On the one hand, the Islamic State calls for attacks on soldiers and police officers. On the other hand, you have small-time criminals who are radicalised in prison, where they come to hate the police."

We have asked French ministers to broaden the laws regarding self-defense. This is an urgent issue.

The investigation should establish if Salvaing knew his attacker, Ribeiro said.

"It’s very likely. Police officers are often in contact with the same people, so they always know who is who. What is certain is that our colleague was not targeted by chance and that the suspect had already staked him out."

 

 

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