Gunman killed shop worker after taking hostages at French supermarket
A suspected ISIS gunman has killed a shop worker after taking hostages at a French supermarket following a drive-by shooting that injured an off-duty officer.
Shots were heard as the man stormed into a Super U at around 11.15am in the town of Trebes, south west France amid claims he shouted ‘vengeance for Syria’ and pledged allegiance to the terror group.
A source in the town has claimed that a butcher in the supermarket has been shot dead while there are also reports that the gunman, in his 30s, is carrying grenades.
Pictures emerging on social media show police gathering outside.
According to French media, the same armed man shot and injured a policeman in the city of Carcassonne, about 15 minutes by car from Trebes, after opening fire at four officers.
BFM TV said the hostage-taker has claimed allegiance to ISIS. But this has not been confirmed by local authorities.
A source at the Paris prosecutor’s office said counter-terrorism prosecutors were investigating the hostage-taking.
Earlier, France’s Interior Ministry had said security officials were carrying out an operation at a supermarket in southern France, but gave no details.
If the link to ISIS is confirmed, the attack would be the first major incident since the election of centrist President Emmanuel Macron in May last year.
The shootings come with France still on high alert after a string of jihadist attacks since 2015, starting in January that year with the assault on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.
France also suffered major attacks in Paris in November 2015 when IS jihadists killed 130 people at bars, restaurants, the Bataclan concert venue and the national stadium.
In July 2016, in another attack claimed by IS, a man drove a truck through revellers celebrating Bastille Day, killing 84 people.
A state of emergency put in place just after the Paris attacks was finally lifted in October last year, but soldiers continue to patrol major tourist sites and transport hubs under an anti-terror mission.
Source: DM
