PARIS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- A priest was killed in a horrible way and another seriously wounded on Tuesday by two men armed with knives at a church in northern France.
WHO ARE THE VICTIMS?
The two men stormed into the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray during a morning mass and took nuns hostage. Jacques Hamel, an 86-year-old semi-retired priest, was forced to kneel down before his throat was cut by one of the men, according to a nun, Sister Danielle.
"They recorded it ... It was like they were performing a sermon in Arabic around the altar. It was horrific," she told French radio.
Although the two men were shot dead by police, their motive was not immediately clear.
WHO ARE THE ATTACKERS?
French anti-terrorist prosecution has taken over the investigation. One person was arrested on Tuesday on charge of having connections with the attackers.
French Prosecutor Francois Molins said that one of the attackers was identified as Adel Kermiche, a 19-year-old that was known to security services and had been arrested twice for trying to reach Syria to join the Islamic State (IS).
He had been under house arrest and had to wear an electronic tag that allowed the police to trace him. However the device was deactivated for a few hours each morning, Molins said.
The French prosecutor added that the identity of the second attacker has yet to be determined.
The BBC quoted a schoolmate of Kermiche as saying that he was "a normal teen who became radicalized after the 2015 attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine."
"We tried to reason with him, but every time ... he would reply with some verse from the Quran, he would invent things," said the schoolmate identified as Redwan.
HOW DID THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT RESPOND?
French President Francois Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve rushed to the scene of the attack, the second assault in 12 days after the Nice carnage that claimed 84 lives.
Hollande condemned the "heinous terrorist attack," saying the two assailants claimed links with the IS.
"The threat is very high. We are facing the group of Daesh, who declared war on us. We have to battle them with all means," he said, using another name of the IS.
Denouncing the "unforgivable act," he insisted that the government be determined to apply the anti-terrorist laws while respecting rights and freedoms.
However, his opponents said the government has not done enough to keep France safe. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy said the current administration needs to "thoroughly change" its strategy against the IS.
The IS claimed responsibility for the attack, saying two of its "soldiers" carried out the assault, the BBC reported.
