French Policeman Slain in 'Despicable Terrorist Act,' Officials Say
LONDON#151; -- French President Francois Hollande has condemned an attack on a policeman and his wife in a Paris suburb Monday as a terrorist act, after convening an emergency meeting at the presidential palace.
The police officer, who has been named in media reports as Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, 42, was stabbed to death in front of his home in Magnanville, roughly 35 miles outside Paris.
After a short siege, a SWAT team entered the house and killed the attacker. Inside the home, officers found a 3-year-old child alive, and a woman's dead body. The woman, who is believed to be the policeman's wife, was an employee at the Ministry of Interior.
More than 100 individuals have been arrested for links to terrorism since January 2016, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters on his way to visit police headquarters in the area where the couple lived.
Two police officials confirmed the attacker's name as Larossi Abballa, 25, to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release names during ongoing investigations.
The suspect had been sentenced in 2013 to three years for "conspiracy to prepare acts of terrorism," according to the prosecutor's office. It's unclear when he was released.
There are unconfirmed media reports that he claimed his allegiance to ISIS in a Facebook live video shortly after the attack. A propaganda arm of the Islamic State, Amaq news agency, also claimed he was an ISIS fighter. The extremist jihadist group has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The attacker reportedly said on the Facebook post, which is no longer accessible, that the Euro 2016 soccer tournament will be a "graveyard,” and called on others to kill "policemen, prison guards, journalists, rappers.”
President Hollande said in a statement, "Everything will be done to unveil the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.”
Hugo Leehardt reported from Paris.
