Headline for story goes in this spce Priest-slay advance warning
In another apparent security lapse, French authorities were warned that an ISIS jihadist was preparing to strike four days before he savagely executed a Catholic priest in a church, it was revealed Thursday.
A picture of Abdel Malik Petitjean, 19, was distributed to police stations around the country on July 22, with a warning that he was “preparing to take part in an attack on national territory,” a French prosecutor said.
There were no names included in the warning, but Petitjean was known to authorities, having been on a terror watch list since June, when he tried to join ISIS in Syria.
Petitjean and Adel Kermiche, 19, slit the throat of the Rev. Jacques Hamel (inset), 85, after forcing him to kneel at the church’s altar during Mass Tuesday in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.
They forced another man to record the execution before stabbing him. He survived.
The jihadists, both of Algerian origin, were shown pledging allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi in a video made before they stormed the church and held several hostages, including nuns they used as human shields.
They were shot dead by police as they emerged from the church yelling, “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great.” Both men had hoped to join ISIS in Syria.
Petitjean, who used the nom de guerre Abu Omar, was spotted by Turkish officials at an airport as he tried to reach Syria on June 10.
“But he didn’t Syria,” said an go to official who asked not to be identified. He returned to France June 11 and was put on a terror watch list on June 29, CBS News reported.
It was unclear why Petitjean aborted his trip, but ISIS has been encouraging Western recruits to carry out attacks in their home countries.
On July 22, the French anti-terror unit UCLAT distributed a photo of a man who turned out to be Petitjean.
French intelligence officials claimed Turkish authorities did not notify them about Petitjean for more than two weeks.