The two assailants entered a local church, slitting the throat of an 84-year-old priest and leaving another hostage with life-threatening injuries, before being killed by police as they left the building, police said.
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French President Francois Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve were heading to the northwestern town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray where the hostage-taking took place, Brandet said.
The priest’s killing comes on the back of a string of violent attacks across Europe in recent days, some claimed by the Sunni terror group Islamic State – most notably an attack in the French city of Nice less than two weeks ago that left 84 dead.
The Islamic State’s Amaq news agency made the claim of the militants’ involvement, according to SITE Intelligence Group, a USA -based organization that monitors extremist online activity.
The group, also known as ISIS, said that its “soldiers” carried out the attack that killed a priest. “We will stand shoulder to shoulder”, said Valls.
“We pray for the repose of the soul of the priest killed and for the recovery of those injured”.
Speaking after meeting emergency workers and the town mayor in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Mr Hollande named Islamic State – also known as Daesh – as the source of an “extremely high” threat to French people.
“I have met with the family of the priest and I have spoken to the people kept hostage who expressed their pain and sadness as well as a wish to comprehend what has happened”, said Hollande.
“The Catholic Church cannot take other weapons of prayer and brotherhood among men”, he said, according to a French translation.
The crisis continued for around an hour before the armed men were shot dead by police when they emerged in a courtyard outside the church.
Pope Francis issued “the most severe condemnation of all forms of hatred”. “He went to Turkey and security services were alerted after this”, he told The Associated Press by phone. He had no information about the second attacker, according to the AP. “French authorities increased security at churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship after attacks in Paris previous year, but ensuring constant, blanket security is hard in a country with a church in every town and village”.
Other religious leaders were quick to condemn the violence.
Eulalie Garcia told the Daily Mail that she knew the priest personally and had taught her catechism as a young girl.
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It was the fourth time the security measures have been extended since IS militants struck Paris in November, killing 130 people in a wave of bombings and shootings at restaurants, a concert hall and the national stadium. French authorities claim he planned to attack a church in the Paris suburb of Villejuif.
