LOC15:24
12:24 GMT
PARIS, July 26 (KUNA) -- French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday that the two terrorists who took hostages in a church near Rouen earlier had murdered the priest and had claimed they were acting on behalf of "Daesh", the so-called Islamic State.
Hollande travelled to the Saint Etienne de Rouvray church south of Rouen after police intervened to end the hostage-taking and shot dead the two gunmen.
In addition to the murdered priest, one other person out of the five hostages was gravely wounded and "between life and death," according to earlier statements from the Interior Ministry spokesman.
"The community "is terribly affected by the cowardly assassination of the parish priest by two terrorists claiming to be from Daesh (IS)," Hollande said in a live statement close to the scene of the killing.
Witnesses said that the two men entered the church brandishing knives during the service and were crying out slogans like "Allahu Akbar" and identifying themselves as "Islamist terrorists," media reports said.
The French leader also met with three people who escaped the attack unhurt.
"We are facing a trial, one more trial because the threat is very high. It remains very high," Hollande said
"We are faced with a group, Daesh, which has declared war on us. We have to fight this war using all means, by respecting the law, as we are a democracy," he added.
The President said he would meet representatives of all religions on Wednesday "because we have to be together."
He called for "cohesion" among French people, whom he urges on to "form a block that nobody can split." (pickup previous)
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