Attack took soldier by surprise, video shows
PARIS — Video of a suspected Islamic extremist at Paris’ Orly Airport shows a soldier caught by surprise when an attacker drops a shopping bag and grabs her from behind.
The Associated Press has obtained security footage of Saturday’s attack, which caused panic and shut down the French capital’s second-biggest airport. It shows the attacker grabbing the soldier around the shoulders as her companion patrols slightly ahead.
He drops his shopping bag, which authorities said contained a flask of gasoline. Holding a revolver loaded with birdshot, he pulls her backward.
For a few moments, almost no one reacts. One passenger rolls a suitcase past the hostage soldier and the second soldier continues on his way. Then, suddenly, people start backing away as the attacker pulls his hostage toward them.
Yelling that he wanted to kill and die for Allah, according to the Paris prosecutor, Ziyed Ben Belgacem, 39, can be seeing trying to wrestle away the soldier’s assault rifle near the small cluster of people.
The video shows Belgacem using her as a shield after he apparently manages to get control of the weapon, but he exposes himself by standing up, giving her comrades a clear shot to kill him.
The entire episode took less than three minutes. No one else at the airport was injured. The footage was provided to the AP on the condition the source not be revealed.