Businessman beheaded before fanatic tries to blow up factory
A TERRORIST impaled a businessman’s severed head on a spike during an attack on a French factory yesterday.
The fanatic crashed a car through the gates of the plant, ploughing into giant gas canisters.
But the ensuing blast was not sufficient to destroy the gas factory and the man was quickly arrested.
He had scrawled Islamic messages on to the forehead of the victim, whose body was found 30ft away.
Islamic State banners were also found at the Air Products factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, near Lyon.
Yacine Sali, a known extremist, was seized by a fireman at the US-owned facility. The father of three screamed ‘God is great’ in Arabic during the attack at around 10am.
When firefighters arrived they found him attempting to prise open highly flammable canisters. Police then took the 35year-old into custody.
Access to the gas plant is restricted but the delivery firm Sali worked for had security clearance. He was captured on CCTV running into a building to try to set off further gas canisters before he was apprehended. Two people were injured in the initial blast.
The beheading was an apparent attempt to copy the vile executions carried out by Islamic State in Syria.
The victim – thought to be Sali’s boss – was murdered elsewhere before the corpse was dumped at the factory.
France was still on full terror alert following the Charlie Hebdo outrage that claimed 12 lives in January.
Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, said the latest attack was ‘barbarous’. He confirmed that Sali, who lived on the outskirts of Lyon with his family, was known to the security services.
He was watched for two years from 2006 but surveillance was dropped because the authorities no longer considered him a risk. He had no criminal record but is thought to have been involved in antiSemitic incidents, including shouting abuse at Jews.
Mr Cazeneuve said: ‘After the crime was committed, the suspected culprit was neutralised by someone from the security forces who had arrived at the scene, and who had a lot of courage, and kept his cool and proceeded to put the individual out of action.
‘He had been noted for his radicalisation, but was not known to have any links to terrorist figures.’
A woman claiming to be Sali’s wife told Europe1 radio station that he enjoyed a ‘normal’ family life and had left for work as usual in the morning without any indication that he was planning anything.
She said: ‘My heart stopped when I heard he was a suspect. He went to work this morning at 7am. He does deliveries. He did not return between noon and two, I expected him this afternoon.
‘My sister said to turn on the television. She was crying. I know my husband.
‘We have a normal family life. He goes to work, he comes back. We are normal Muslims. We do Ramadan. We have three children and a normal family life.’
Armed police later swooped on her flat. Her children – two boys and a girl all under ten – have been taken into care.
Sali’s sister and another person were also later arrested following the raid on his home.
The Air Products factory produces industrial gas and is considered a sensitive site, according to Erwann Binet, Socialist MP for the Isere department. A supplier of gas to Nasa, including the Space Shuttle programme, it has an Israeli subsidiary. It has 21,000 employees and sells nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen products.
Prime minister Manuel Valls said last month that security services had foiled at least five attacks since the Charlie Hebdo atrocity. ‘The threat has never been so serious, we have never had to face this kind of terrorism in all our history,’ he said.
Mr Valls said 1,573 French nationals or people resident in France were ‘listed as being implicated in terrorist networks’. Of these, 442 were believed to be fighting for IS in Syria, where 97 have died.
The Paris attacks were said to have been inspired by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and IS.
Mr Cazeneuve yesterday visited the scene of the atrocity, together with antiterrorist police from Paris.
President Francois Hollande said: ‘There is emotion but emotion cannot be the only response. We need action and dissuasion. We must not cede to fear.’
David Cameron expressed his sympathies over the incident to Mr Hollande.
A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘He expressed his sympathies for what looks like an appalling incident. Our thoughts are with all those affected by it.’