Two French jihadists who killed a Catholic priest in a church last week had first met only days earlier through the encrypted messaging app Telegram, a source close to the investigation says.
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Police identified the other attacker as19-year-old local man Adel Kermiche.
And on Sunday, Muslims attended masses in churches around France to pay their respects to the slain priest.
They had killed Father Jacques Hamel, 86, inside the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray and taken hostages.
The investigations on the fact, in which a priest died, continue with the examination of two suspects: a cousin of Malik Petitjean and a claimant of Syrian asylum which passport was found in the Kermiche residence.
The “Islamic State” group, which in recent years has become notorious for its brutality in Syria and Iraq, released a video least week purportedly showing Petitjean calling for Muslims to destroy France. The mayor’s office will make the final decision on whether Kermiche can be buried in the town.
Kermiche was also known to security services and was wearing an electronic surveillance tag while on bail as he awaited trial for membership of a terror organisation at the time. In past attacks, extremists have stolen documents to sneak operatives across borders.
“Being united is a response to the act of horror and barbarism”, Aissaoui said.
Family friend Jonathan Sacarabany said Kermiche grew up in a housing project in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray.
The Basilica of Saint-Denis, outside Paris, also gathered hundreds of Catholics but also a large number of Muslims and people of other confessions who showed up after religious authorities in France called on the population to express sympathy to the Catholic community.
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The French government has come under pressure over perceived security lapses, following the Bastille Day attack in Nice, when a jihadist drove a truck through crowds, killing 84 people.
