Attack on gas plant in France “has terrorist hallmarks”

An attack on a gas factory in France has been blamed on the Islamic State (ISIS) after a black flag brandishing the terror organisation’s insignia, was hoisted above the facility near the town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier earlier today.

According to reports, the attack happened when two men rammed a vehicle into a line of canisters outside the plant of US-owned firm Air Products, setting off an explosion that was initially thought to be the result of a car crash. Police have also confirmed that a search of the area turned up a severed head with Islamic writings on it.

Addressing the media at the scene, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that one of the attackers was known to foreign intelligence having been flagged and monitored as an extremist since 2006.

“This person was under investigation for radicalisation but this investigation was not renewed in 2008. He had no police record,” Cazeneuve said, before stating that the suspect could be 30-year old Yacine Sali.

French President Francois Hollande has described the attack as bearing the “hallmarks of a terrorist attack” and that many people are still reeling from the attack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in January.

“The intent was without doubt to cause an explosion. At the time I am speaking, there is one dead and two injured,” Hollande said in a televised interview from Brussels where he had been attending an EU summit.

In the latest development, Sky News has reported that the decapitated victim, identified as being the manager of a local transport firm, was killed before the explosion took place and that his head was found hanging from the factory’s main gate. It is being alleged that he was also the responsible suspect’s boss. 

IMAGE sourced from france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr