Woman is one of six people held in relation to killing of Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his partner

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

French detectives are questioning a police officer about the double murder of a police commander and his partner by a convicted Islamist terrorist.

France’s anti-terrorist brigade took three men and three women into custody on Monday in connection with the fatal knife attack on Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his partner, Jessica Schneider, in June 2016.

According to multiple reports in French media, one of the suspects being questioned is a police major who was arrested with her allegedly radicalised daughter and members of their entourage.

Le Monde and L’Express magazine cited sources naming the officer as Maryline Bereaud, 48, a former delegate for Alliance, the French police officers’ main trade union. There was no suggestion that she was directly implicated in the killings.

L’Express alleged that Bereaud had been at the subject of an internal police inquiry in 2016 after she was said to have allowed a young woman on the fiche S list of people considered a potential security risk to stay at her home. The investigation cleared Bereaud of any wrongdoing, but she was asked to resign from her union role.

At about the same time, she was promoted to major and has since been working in an administrative retention centre for illegal immigrants in Plaisir.

On Monday, police said an investigating judge had signed the order for the six people from the Yvelines department, in Paris’s western suburbs, to be taken into custody.

A police source told L’Express: “We have to remain careful; these people are presumed innocent. By taking them into custody, we aim to shine some light on a still unanswered question: why was the Salvaing-Schneider couple targeted by Larossi Abballa?”

Larossi Abballa, who declared his allegiance to Islamic State, stabbed Salvaing, 42, a deputy police commander, then slit the throat of Schneider, 36, a police administrator, in front of the couple’s three-year-old son.



Abballa, 25, who had previously been convicted of taking part in a jihadist recruitment network, streamed a video of the attack on the family home in a quiet residential area of Magnanville, 34 miles (55km) west of Paris, on Facebook Live.



Police negotiators attempted to talk to the man, who said he was a soldier for Isis and had sworn allegiance to the group. Holed up inside the house with the couple’s toddler son, with police attempting to negotiate with him, Abballa indicated that he knew the murdered police commander, the French daily Libération reported. “He came to my home, now I’ve come to his,” it reported him as saying.

Abballa was killed as special forces stormed the property.

The then French president François Hollande described the killings as “odious” and “undeniably a terrorist attack”.



In 2013, Abballa, who was French, was sentenced to three years in prison, with six months suspended, for “criminal association in view to preparing terrorist attacks” for his role in a recruitment network of jihadists to Pakistan and Afghanistan. He was freed in September 2013 after serving most of his sentence on remand.



Before then, he was known to police for crimes including theft and violence. In 2009, he was convicted of theft for stealing €157 (£137) from a hairdresser’s till.



Three men are under official investigation for links to the attack, two of them for “association with terrorist criminals” and one for “complicity to murder public servants in connection with a terrorist organisation”. The third man’s DNA was found on a laptop used by Abballa inside the house to claim responsibility for the double murder. </s> Anti-terrorism forces arrested four people Friday in southern France, including a 16-year-old girl, and uncovered a makeshift laboratory with the explosive TATP and other ingredients for fabricating a bomb. France's top security official said the raid thwarted an "imminent attack."A police official said the teen had pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group in a recent video.The prosecutor's office said around 70 grams (2.5 ounces) of TATP were seized in the Montpellier-area home of a 20-year-old man, along with a liter each of acetone, oxygenated water and sulfuric acid. TATP, which can be made from readily available materials, was used in the deadly November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attack in Brussels carried out by Islamic State extremists.Two other men were arrested, a 33-year-old and a 26-year-old, along with the teenage girl, according to the prosecutor's office, which handles terrorism investigations in France.The police official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation, said one of the suspects was believed to be planning a suicide attack but that the investigation had not yet uncovered a specific target.He said person in the group had tried to reach Syria in 2015 and was known to intelligence services. The group - notably the girl - attracted new attention with their social media postings, he said.Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said the arrests in three locations in the Montpellier area "thwarted an imminent attack on French soil."The country's prime minister praised the work of anti-terror investigators."Faced with the heightened threat, there has been an extremely strong mobilization of our intelligence services to ensure the French are protected to the utmost," said Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.France is still under a state of emergency after several deadly attacks in 2015 and 2016.(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)2/10/2017 7:49:25 AM (GMT -6:00) </s> French counter-terrorism forces have detained a group of suspected far-right radicals who were plotting an attack on “people of Muslim faith.” Firearms as well as homemade explosives were found during the raid.

Ten people suspected of having links to a far-right movement have been detained in a large-scale security operation late on Sunday, June 24, the French media reported on Monday. The arrests were made by the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) as part of a counter-terrorism investigation into a planned attack on Muslims.

The raids were conducted in the Paris region, the western regions of Haute-Vienne and Charente-Maritime as well as on the island of Corsica. The suspects, aged between 32 and 69, had an “ill-defined plan to commit a violent act targeting people of the Muslim faith,” a source close to the investigation told AFP.

Another source told the French media that the group planned to attack those they considered to be “targets linked to radical Islam,” including hate preachers and radical imams, Islamist prisoners once they are released, as well as veiled women chosen at random. So far it is unclear how close the group was to implementing its plot.

The suspects were allegedly seeking to acquire firearms. Some were found during the raids of the suspects’ property. Security forces also found grenades and homemade explosives, which were apparently produced by the suspects.

A retired policeman identified only as Guy S. was among those arrested, Le Parisien reported. The man, 65, is suspected of leading the Action of the Operational Forces movement (AFO), a far-right group, which all those arrested allegedly belonged to. The clandestine organization allegedly sought to avenge the victims of Islamist attacks that have hit France in recent years.

The members of the group claimed they wanted to counter “the threat of radical Islam” in France, LCI said, adding that the suspects regularly trained in shooting clubs as they apparently prepared to carry out their attacks. They also reportedly prepared caches of weapons, ammunition, and food for their families in case of a “major crisis,” the broadcaster added. None of the suspects were apparently known to police or security forces before.

It is the second major far-right conspiracy thwarted by the French security forces in less than a year. In October 2017, counter-terrorism police arrested 10 people in the Paris and Marseille areas over a suspected plot to attack mosques, migrants, and even former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! </s> Counter-terrorist police and soldiers in Marseille at the scene of the raid. Photo: AFP

Police arrested two men in Marseille Tuesday on suspicion of planning an attack just days before the first round of France's presidential election, with bomb-making materials and guns found in searches.

The foiled plot sparked fears the closing days of the campaign could be a target for extremists ahead of Sunday's vote.

Elite police and agents from France's domestic intelligence agency detained the two Frenchmen -- identified only as 23-year-old Clement Baur and Merabet Mahiedine, 29 -- with Interior Minister Matthias Fekl saying they were known to be "radicalised."

"They were aiming to commit in the very short term, in other words in the next few days, an attack on French soil," Fekl said.

French authorities found three kilos of explosives, several guns and an Islamic State jihadist flag in subsequent raids of an apartment in Marseille, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.

Several French media cite sources in the intelligence services who say the attack plot was targeting a specific presidential candidate.

Reports suggest that candidate was François Fillon, but it is believed counter-terror police acted quickly because Marine Le Pen is due to appear in Marseille on Wednesday.

This has not been confirmed by authorities.

Photos of the two men arrested on Tuesday were distributed to the security teams of candidates in the upcoming French presidential election, campaign sources told AFP.

"The photos were passed to my security service from Thursday," far-right candidate Marine Le Pen told AFP, while an aide to centrist Emmanuel Macron also confirmed receiving pictures.

Conservative Francois Fillon was warned about the danger on Friday, an aide said. He added that only Fillon's security had been reinforced, suggesting that it may have been the Republicans candidate who was the target.

An aide to FIllon also told Le Figaro newspaper that the initial tip off about the plot came from British intelligence services.

Reports claim a video made by the two men in which they declared allegiance to Isis was found and that the front page of a newspaper showing the candidate they reportedly intended to target was also found in their possession.

Sources close to the investigation have told French media they were ready to act "imminently". They were arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected terrorist and arms offences.

France's Minister of Interior Matthias Fekl said the pair were ready to carry out an attack on French soil "in the next couple of days."

He provided little details about the alleged plot but said: "Everything would be done to ensure security around the elections".

France has been on high alert ever since a series of attacks in 2015 and 2016 left over 230 dead in Paris and Nice. The recent attacks in London and Stockholm have only heightened worries.

Authorities have been particularly concerned that jihadists would try to target the presidential election, the first round of which is on Sunday.

Interior Minister Matthias Fekl has announced that 50,000 officers will be mobilized across the country's 67,000 polling stations to try to prevent any terror attack or other outbreaks of violence by extremist groups.

Fekl told The Journal du Dimanche on Sunday that the threat was "high and permanent".

French police have made numerous arrests for suspected terrorist offences since the beginning of the year.

According to the Journal du Dimanche the DGSI intelligence services have warned the main candidates over "a specific threat to their security and on their campaign headquarters".

Security has been tight at campaign events with snipers and specialist anti-terror police units being deployed at a François Fillon campaign event in Montpellier and bomb disposal experts checking venues ahead of each rally.

Polls have shown that voters are more concerned about unemployment and their spending power than terrorism or security, though analysts warn this could change quickly in the event of further bloodshed.

Anti-EU, anti-immigration candidate Marine Le Pen has sought to cast herself as the best defender of France against the threat of fresh attacks.

At a campaign rally in Paris on Monday night she declared the terror attacks of Nice and Paris would not have happened if she had been in power.

Marine Le Pen's headquarters were targeted by petrol bombs earlier this month. The attack was claimed by an anti-fascist group. There were also ugly scenes with anti-fascist protesters clashing with police ahead of Le Pen's rally in Paris on Monday night. </s> French counter-terrorism forces have detained a group of suspected far-right radicals who were plotting an attack on "people of Muslim faith." Firearms as well as homemade explosives were found during the raid.Ten people suspected of having links to a far-right movement have been detained in a large-scale security operation late on Sunday, June 24, the French media reported on Monday. The arrests were made by the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) as part of a counter-terrorism investigation into a planned attack on Muslims.The raids were conducted in the Paris region, the western regions of Haute-Vienne and Charente-Maritime as well as on the island of Corsica. The suspects, aged between 32 and 69, had an "ill-defined plan to commit a violent act targeting people of the Muslim faith," a source close to the investigation told AFP.The suspects were allegedly seeking to acquire firearms. Some were found during the raids of the suspects' property. Security forces also found grenades and homemade explosives, which were apparently produced by the suspects.A retired policeman identified only as Guy S. was among those arrested, Le Parisien reported. The man, 65, is suspected of leading the Action of the Operational Forces movement (AFO), a far-right group, which all those arrested allegedly belonged to. The clandestine organization allegedly sought to avenge the victims of Islamist attacks that have hit France in recent years.It is the second major far-right conspiracy thwarted by the French security forces in less than a year. In October 2017, counter-terrorism police arrested 10 people in the Paris and Marseille areas over a suspected plot to attack mosques, migrants, and even former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon. </s> Ten alleged extreme-right militants suspected of a terrorist plot to attack Muslims in France are to appear before a judge and face preliminary charges.

Nine men and one woman aged 32 to 69 – including one retired police officer – were arrested in raids across France on Saturday, in the Paris area, the Mediterranean island of Corsica and the western Charentes-Maritimes region.

Police had linked the ten to a little-known group called Action des Forces Operationnelles (Operational Forces Action), which urges French people to combat Muslims, or what it calls “the enemy within”. Rifles, handguns and homemade grenades were found during searches.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday that it had asked an investigating judge to file preliminary charges.

In a statement, the prosecutor said an array of weapons and potential bomb-making equipment were found and authorities feared a violent act but “at this stage” couldn’t determine the exact targets. The group, which was seeking to expand, offered combat and survivalist training and held meetings to define its objectives and how to attain them, the prosecutor said. Some had tested homemade grenades and explosives.

The “Guerre de France” (War for France) website of the shadowy Operational Forces Action group depicts an apocalyptic battle scene under the Eiffel Tower, and claims to prepare “French citizen-soldiers for combat on national territory”.

France’s TF1 television reported earlier this week that the group had allegedly planned to randomly target women wearing headscarves in the street and had also allegedly planned to hit targets linked to radical Islam.

“I’m not surprised by these arrests because the current climate of Islamophobia encourages this sort of passage from words to deeds,” said Abdallah Zekri of the French Council of the Muslim Faith after the arrests.

The Council said it was particularly worried about the security of the country’s roughly 2,500 mosques.

France registered 72 violent anti-Muslim acts last year, up from 67 in 2016.

In a statement at the time of the weekend arrests, the interior minister, Gérard Collomb, emphasised the “total mobilisation” of security services “to prevent any disturbance to public order and any threat to people and property, especially those targeting a particular religion.” </s> Four people, including a 16-year-old girl, have been held by French police after bomb-making materials were found at the home of one of the suspects near Montpellier in southern France.

French Interior Minister Bruno Leroux said the police had foiled an "imminent terror plot".

A police source told AFP that four suspects aged 16, 20, 26, and 33 were arrested after they bought acetone which could be used to make an explosive device.

The prosecutor's office said that police had infiltrated the property of the 20-year-old and found acetone and 70 grams of triacetone triperoxide (TATP), the same explosive used by Islamic State (Isis/Daesh) in the 2015 Paris attacks.

The girl said on social media that she wanted to take part in the Syria-Iraq conflict or plot an attack in France, according to AFP. She reportedly posted a video pledging her allegiance to IS on 8 February.

She was planning to travel to Syria with a fake passport, according to BFM TV channel.

French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve warned that the "terror threat in France is very high". The country has been on a high terror alert since the 2015 Paris attacks. A state of emergency was declared in July after a terrorist drove a 19-tonne truck through the centre of Nice, killing 86 people. On 3 February a man wielding a machete was shot outside the Louvre by a French soldier. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption French police at the scene of the attack in Paris

A knifeman has killed one person and wounded four in a suspected terror attack in central Paris, French officials say.

The attacker was then shot dead by police in the Opéra district. Witnesses say they heard him shout "Allah Akbar".

So-called Islamic State (IS) later said one of its "soldiers" had carried out the attack on Saturday evening.

Judicial sources told French media the attacker was a man born in 1997 in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya.

The sources said his parents had been held for questioning.

Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said the victim of the attack was a 29-year-old man, but gave no further details.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted (in French): "France has once again paid in blood, but will not give an inch to the enemies of freedom."

How did the events unfold?

The attacker began stabbing passers-by at about 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on the rue Monsigny.

Eyewitnesses described him as a young man with brown hair and a beard, dressed in black tracksuit trousers.

The man tried to enter several bars and restaurants but was blocked by people inside. Police arrived at the scene within minutes.

They first tried to stop the assailant with a stun-gun before shooting him dead.

An eyewitness, named as Gloria, told AFP news agency: "We didn't know what was going on, we were quickly moved inside the bar, I went outside and I saw a man lying on the floor."

Image copyright AFP Image caption Forensic officers have been examining the scene of the attack

Jonathan, a waiter at a local restaurant, told AFP: "I saw him with a knife in his hand. He looked crazy."

He said a woman the attacker had stabbed ran into into the restaurant bleeding. The assailant tried to follow her inside, but was fended off and finally fled.

Two of the wounded in the attack are in a serious condition but do not have life-threatening injuries.

Later in the evening the IS group said it was behind the attack, in a brief statement posted on its news outlet.

How did French authorities react?

The anti-terrorism unit of the Paris prosecutor's office has launched an investigation.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said police were on the scene five minutes after an emergency call and the attacker was killed "less than nine minutes later".

Mr Collomb praised police for their "cool response". He said his first thoughts were "with the victims of this heinous act".

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted (in French): "Tonight, our city was bruised."

"I want to tell them that all Parisians are on their side," she added.

Image copyright AFP Image caption The Opera district is renowned for its nightlife

How has France been countering security threats?

France has been on high alert following a series of attacks. More than 230 people have been killed by IS-inspired jihadists in the past three years.

The deadliest violence occurred on 13 November 2015, when gunmen and suicide bombers struck various venues in Paris almost simultaneously - killing a total 130 people.

After winning last year's elections, President Macron pledged that fighting Islamist terrorism would be his top foreign policy priority.

Defeating IS in Iraq and Syria must go hand-in-hand with anti-terror measures in Africa, he said. </s> BERLIN: German police have detained four men, one of whom they suspected of planning knife attacks at Sunday's Berlin half-marathon, the newspaper Die Welt reported in its online edition.

Die Welt said the four suspects were linked to Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist ties, who hijacked a truck in December 2016, killed the driver and then ploughed into a crowded marketplace, killing 11 more people and injuring dozens of others.
French police arrest three men and three women accused of involvement in the 2016 Magnanville stabbing by an ISIL supporter. Local media reports the detainees include police major Maryline Bereaud and her daughter.