Notre Dame hammer attacker’s IS pledge

Given license to kill

A MAJOR intelligence blunder allowed one of the London Bridge killers into Britain despite him being flagged on an international watchlist.

The security services are under fire after revelations Youssef Zaghba, 22, was granted entry even after telling Italian authorities: “I’m going to be a terrorist.” They forwarded the intelligence to their British counterparts when he travelled to the UK just a month later.

But the warnings were not acted on and the Moroccan-born Italian citizen was allowed in unhindered. COUNTER-TERRORISM agents searching the home of a man who yesterday attacked a police officer in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris have found a video recording of the assailant pledging allegiance to Islamic State.

The video shows the suspect, identified as Algerianborn doctoral student Farid Ikken, claiming responsibility for his “future actions”, France’s LCI television reported, citing unnamed sources in the security services.

Ikken had no criminal record, sources said.

The hammer-wielding student, 40, was last night recovering in hospital after being shot when he attacked a police officer while shouting, “It’s for Syria”.

The police officer suffered slight injuries.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Ikken was “believed to be acting alone” and used “rudimentary items to attack the forces of law and order”.

Among the hundreds of frantic people who were locked down inside tourist hot spot Notre Dame after the attack was former US ambassador to the UN Nancy Soderberg.

“It was really scary, we had no idea if there were any accomplices inside,” Ms Soderberg said.