France put on high alert after attack on chemical plantOfficials
say one person was decapitated and two others injured after attack
on chemical depot near Lyon.26 Jun 2015 17:59 GMT|France,War &
Conflict,Europe 2924 973 The target of the attack is a chemical
factory southeast of Lyon [AFP]France has been placed on high alert
for the next three days after aperson was found decapitated in what
officials are calling a "terrorist" incidentat a gas factory in
southeastern France.French President Francois Hollande, speaking in
Brussels, said the incident began shortly before 10am local time on
Friday after a car crashed the gate and ran into gas canisters,
causing an explosion. At least two others were injured in the
attack.A security official said a severed head was found posted on
the gate at the entrance to the factory, located in Saint Quentin
Fallevier, about 30km southeast of Lyon. According to legal
sources,the man decapitated was the bossof the suspect now in
police custody.Two flags, one white and one black, both with Arabic
inscriptions, were found nearby, a security official told the AP
news agency."The attack was of a terrorist nature since a body was
discovered, decapitated and with inscriptions. As I speak, there is
one fatality and two injured," said President Hollande, speaking in
Brussels.A French prosecutor says four people are in custody and
that police were still searching buildings for evidence.'Salafist
links'French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, speaking to
reporters near the scene of the attack, said the suspect had links
to the Salafist movement and had previously been on an intelligence
watch list between 2006 and 2008.Cazeneuve said the suspectwas
apprehended by a fireman who had responded to the incident.Several
other people were also arrested at the scene by police, as a
precaution, he said.Afull-scale investigation is now under way.
Police sealed off the entrance to the factory in southeastern
France [AFP]
Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan, reporting from Saint Quentin
Fallevier,said officials have not yet confirmed what the motive for
the attack was.Brennan said that the man who was arrested was aged
30 and was known to police.The target of the attack is a chemical
factory which is reportedly linked to a French company called Air
Products that works with Total and specialises in liquid gas.The
company issued a statement following the incident, saying that all
of the employees have been accounted for."Our priority at this
stage is to take care of our employees, who have been evacuated
from the site," the company said.The attack came nearly six months
after the attacks in and around Paris that killed 17 people in
January that started with a shooting at satirical magazine Charlie
Hebdo.
