Mass dedicated to slain officer

Some Muslims attend to hail hero of terrorist attack

TREBES, France — Afrench bishop paid tribute Sunday to a police officer who lost his life after swapping himself with a supermarket employee held hostage by an Islamist extremist, saying his heroic sacrifice helped save the nation.

Survivors and families of the four victims of Friday’s rampage of attacks packed the Saint-etienne-detrebes church for the special Mass honoring Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame.

Muslims were among those mourning at the special Palm Sunday service in the southern town of Trebes, near the medieval city of Carcassonne. The manager of the supermarket sat in the front row, alongside her husband, the town mayor.

The bishop of Carcassonne and Narbonne, Alain Planet, hailed Beltrame’s “extraordinary act, extraordinary devotion.”

“It is better that one man dies for the people so that the nation doesn’t perish,” the bishop said.

The Islamic State group claimed that the attacker — Radouane Lakdim, 25, born in Morocco — was answering its call to target nations in the U.s.-led coalition fighting IS militants in Syria and Iraq.

Lakdim was killed by police Friday after Beltrame helped them storm the market. Lakdim also killed the supermarket’s butcher, a shopper and a passenger in the car that Lakdim had hijacked earlier in nearby Carcassonne. He shot at riot police, one of whom was injured, then headed to the supermarket in Trebes.

French police searching Lakdim’s home in Carcassonne found notes referring to the Islamic State group that appeared to be a final testament, a judicial official said on Saturday. Also found were a computer and telephone.

Three homemade explosive devic- es, a handgun and a hunting knife were discovered inside the supermarket, suggesting that the attacker may have had still deadlier plans.

The head of France’s National Gendarmerie, Gen. Richard Lizurey, visited the post in nearby Carcassonne where Beltrame had been stationed since August 2017. He said the Lt. Col.’s “exceptional act” should serve as an inspiration to colleagues.

Moussa Azidad, a teacher in Trebes, said fellow Muslims must send a message to show they, too, must be present in the fight against terror.