News / France

France terror suspect took selfie with decapitated victim's head

Saturday, 27 June 2015 9:34 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 27 June 2015 10:57 PM ]

French police secure the entrance of a gas factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, near Lyon, following a terrorist attack on June 26, 2015. (AFP)

The man suspected of beheading his employer in a recent terrorist attack in France has taken a "selfie" photo with the slain victim's head and sent it to a phone number in Canada via WhatsApp, security officials say.

French investigators were working to determine the identity of the recipient, but were not able to verify media reports that the phone number belongs to an unspecified person now in Syria, where the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group is operating, the officials said on Saturday.

The suspect identified as Yassin Salhi, a truck driver reportedly carrying an ISIL flag, crashed into a gas factory located in the small town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the city of Lyon, on Friday, and hung his employer's severed head on a factory gate.

Salhi, 35, his sister, and wife were arrested following the raid and are in custody in Lyon.

Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned that the country would face more attacks in future.

“It’s difficult for a society to live for years under the threat of attack,” Valls told AFP on a flight back from the Colombian capital Bogota, adding, “The question is not… if there will be another attack, but when.”