Paris knife attacker was French citizen born in Chechnya

[webfact]

Paris knife attacker was French citizen born in Chechnya

By Emmanuel Jarry and Ingrid Melander

 

French police secure a street after a man killed a passer-by in a knife attack in the heart of Paris and injured four others before being shot dead by police, according to French authorities in Paris, France, May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Lucien Libert

 

PARIS (Reuters) - Police on Sunday scoured the background of a Chechnya-born Frenchman who killed a man in a knife attack in Paris, questioning the parents and a friend of the 21-year old, who had been flagged previously as a potential security risk.

 

 

 

The assailant had shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) as he began his stabbing rampage late on Saturday. He fatally knifed a 29-year-old man and wounded four others, among them a Chinese and a Luxembourg citizen, before police shot him dead.

 

A judicial source named the attacker as Khamzat A, without giving his full name, which BFM TV and other French media said was Azimov.

 

The attack took place in the bustling Opera district, known for its many restaurants, cafes and the Palais Garnier opera.

 

It was the latest in a succession of attacks in France since January 2015 in which more than 240 people have been killed.

 

Since 2016 the attacker had been on a counter-terrorism watchlist of suspected radicals who may be a threat to national security, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said.

 

The stabbing again exposed the difficulty European intelligence services face keeping track of suspected extremists and countering the threat posed by homegrown militants and foreign jihadists.

 

France has participated in a U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and it also intervened in Mali to push back an Islamist rebellion in the West African state.

 

Its military interventions overseas have exposed it to attack by Islamist militants at home.

 

Islamic State claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack, but provided no proof. Griveaux said the claim had not yet been fully authenticated.

 

In a video which the SITE intelligence monitoring group said was posted by Islamic State's Amaq news agency, a young man described as the attacker pledged allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

 

Speaking in French, his face largely obscured by a black hood and scarf, he said "infidels" fighting Islamic State were to blame. "You started it by killing Muslims," he said.

 

It was not immediately possible to confirm the identity of the man in the video.

 

The assailant became French when his mother obtained citizenship in 2010, Griveaux said in a joint interview with broadcasters LCI and RTL and newspaper Le Figaro.

 

He rejected criticism from opponents of President Emmanuel Macron that the government was not doing enough to stem such attacks, saying: "Zero risk does not exist."

 

Judicial sources said the assailant's parents as well as a friend of his were being held for questioning. The friend, arrested in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, was born in 1997, a source said.

 

BFM TV said the attacker had long lived in Strasbourg before moving to Paris last year.

 

A local elected official told Reuters that about 40 to 50 Chechen families lived in that area of Strasbourg, not mixing much with other people.

 

"I've been sounding the alarm since 2008-2009. This is fertile ground for radicalisation," Eric Elkouby, a Socialist, said of the area, which he said was impoverished and had been neglected by authorities.

 

'WE HID UNDER THE TABLE'

In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter that countries needed to "open their eyes" and change the way they view such attacks.

 

"So sad to see the Terror Attack in Paris," Trump tweeted. "This kind of sickness & hatred is not compatible with a loving, peaceful, & successful country! Changes to our thought process on terror must be made."

 

The White House issued a statement earlier on Sunday that condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the French nation.

 

Police union representative Rocco Contento told Reuters the attacker stabbed bystanders before rushing at police on Saturday evening shouting "I will kill you, I will kill you!"

 

He was then shot by the officers.

 

"It was scary," said Emma Klibbe, a 32-year old Australian who was waiting to get into a nearby restaurant and saw a man walk by who had been wounded in the attack.

 

"We heard someone shout and then a woman screamed 'run inside!' We ran inside and hid under the table," said Klibbe, who teaches English in Paris.

 

The four people wounded were out of danger, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters.

 

A picture seen by Reuters showed a bare-chested and bearded young man dressed in black sweatpants lying on the ground and being helped by emergency services. A source said he was the attacker.

 

"We heard gun fire, two gun shots," said waitress Sarah Gousse. "The street was just filled with police and firemen and they tried to revive him (the attacker)."

 

In a similar incident in October, a man stabbed two young women to death in the port city of Marseille before he was shot dead by soldiers.

 

The deadliest of the attacks that have hit France over the past three years occurred in Paris in November 2015, when 130 people were killed.

 

(Additonal reporting by Sophie Louet, Lucien Libert, Gilbert Reilhac, John Irish; and David Morgan in Washington; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Richard Lough, Angus MacSwan and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-05-14

[attrayant]

Said it before and will say it again.  Religions (all of them) are a scourge upon humanity.

 

Having said that, I don't understand what point the title is supposed to be making.  Why do the attacker's citizenship & nationality matter?

Edited May 14, 2018 by attrayant

[lovelomsak]

Another very good reason to vet immigrants and refugees better than we have in the past.

[bert bloggs]

No he was not a Frenchman ,he was a Chechnyan , just because you live in a stable ,it does not make you a horse .

[lanista]

Must be getting close to the tourist season in Europe.  No way would i go to Paris,London,Brussels or anywhere in Sweden these days.  Europe used to be a wonderful place now its  just a refugee dump.  The governments have no idea who is there.  In 2003 there were trains originating in Eastern Europe that transited through Switzerland all the way to Gare de Lyon,Paris. Full of refugees, many of which made a dash for it when the train stopped at the platform.

[simple1]

35 minutes ago, lanista said:

Must be getting close to the tourist season in Europe.

No way would i go to Paris,London,Brussels or anywhere in Sweden these days.

Europe used to be a wonderful place now its  just a refugee dump .

The governments have no idea who is there.

In 2003 there were trains originating in Eastern Europe that transited through Switzerland all

the way to Gare de Lyon,Paris. Full of refugees, many of which made a dash for it when the train stopped at the platform.

If you're really being honest, sorry to day you are enabling one of the goals of Islamic terrorism - fear. It's a bit like thinking I know I could be randomly killed travelling by car (lot greater statistical chance than by terrorism), therefore I will no longer travel by car. 

[Opl]

The President of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, spoke about this attack in Paris suitably claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). He recalled that the terrorist from Chechnya obtained a Russian passport at the age of 14, before getting French nationality. "Knowing this, I think it is important to point out that all the responsibility, for the fact that Hassan Azimov has decided to take the path of crime, is entirely the responsibility of the French authorities," said Mr. Kadyrov on Telegram messaging. "He was born in Chechnya, but he grew up and formed his personality, his opinions and his convictions in the French society," assured the leader. And to add, a bit treacherous: "I'm sure that if he had spent his childhood and adolescence in Chechnya, the fate of Hassan would have been different."

 

 

[Morch]

1 hour ago, lanista said:

Must be getting close to the tourist season in Europe.

No way would i go to Paris,London,Brussels or anywhere in Sweden these days.

Europe used to be a wonderful place now its  just a refugee dump .

The governments have no idea who is there.

In 2003 there were trains originating in Eastern Europe that transited through Switzerland all

the way to Gare de Lyon,Paris. Full of refugees, many of which made a dash for it when the train stopped at the platform.

 

"Must be getting close to the tourist season in Europe."

 

If anything, Ramadan starts this week.

 

[Emster23]

Lazy slacker terrorist. Is it too much to ask that he go off to Russia and attack there? They are the ones that had huge crackdown on Muslims in Chechnya. These kids today.....

[Krataiboy]

4 hours ago, Opl said:

The President of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, spoke about this attack in Paris suitably claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). He recalled that the terrorist from Chechnya obtained a Russian passport at the age of 14, before getting French nationality. "Knowing this, I think it is important to point out that all the responsibility, for the fact that Hassan Azimov has decided to take the path of crime, is entirely the responsibility of the French authorities," said Mr. Kadyrov on Telegram messaging. "He was born in Chechnya, but he grew up and formed his personality, his opinions and his convictions in the French society," assured the leader. And to add, a bit treacherous: "I'm sure that if he had spent his childhood and adolescence in Chechnya, the fate of Hassan would have been different."

 

 

Macron appears to be enthusiastically embracing Islam with an apparent disregard for the consequences.

 

"Islamization is everywhere," according to a new Gatestone Institute report. "In hundreds of mosques, imama delivery fiery anti-Western speeches. Churches are vandalised, the number of  rapes us rapidly increasing. Groups of veiled women roam the streets and insult the 'immodest', unveiled, women. Jews by the thousand hide or flee the country".

 

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12292/france-ally-united-states

[Opl]

6 hours ago, lanista said:

Must be getting close to the tourist season in Europe.

No way would i go to Paris,London,Brussels or anywhere in Sweden these days.

Europe used to be a wonderful place now its  just a refugee dump .

The governments have no idea who is there.

In 2003 there were trains originating in Eastern Europe that transited through Switzerland all

the way to Gare de Lyon,Paris. Full of refugees, many of which made a dash for it when the train stopped at the platform.

 

Please read this , be vigilent and stay safe :

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2017/09/12/ISIS-strategy-of-death-by-a-thousand-cuts-.html

[CG1 Blue]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Police union representative Rocco Contento told Reuters the attacker stabbed bystanders before rushing at police on Saturday evening shouting "I will kill you, I will kill you!"

 

He was then shot by the officers.

That didn't quite work out for him did it

[Srikcir]

12 hours ago, lovelomsak said:

Another very good reason to vet immigrants and refugees better than we have in the past.

The 21 y.o. assailant became French at the age of 13 when his mother obtained citizenship in 2010. What would vetting him better have changed anything?

[Trouble]

4 hours ago, CG1 Blue said:

That didn't quite work out for him did it

Nice, at least we are spared the public trial and taking care of him during a life sentence.

 

[CG1 Blue]

10 minutes ago, Trouble said:

Nice, at least we are spared the public trial and taking care of him during a life sentence.

 

Yep.  And most importantly he won't get the chance to spread his poisonous ideology among the prison population. Pity he didn't suffer a bit more though...

[observer90210]

Oh Dear !!!...look at the poor cop in the middle of the photo !!....my granpa looks younger then him ?!!...do they not have an age limit in France to dispense these boys away from the streets, after years of respected service on the beat ?!! .. These cops deserve full respect to still be hitting the streets and not just cruising around looking for their next bribe or for somebody to shoot for no reason !!

Edited May 14, 2018 by observer90210

[rudi49jr]

I was waiting for someone to say something meaningful, like 'religion of peace' or something like that. Where are all those posters who are always so quick to judge?

[Scott]

3 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

I was waiting for someone to say something meaningful, like 'religion of peace' or something like that. Where are all those posters who are always so quick to judge?

More than one was a little too judgmental and won't be posting for a while. 

 

[rudi49jr]

1 minute ago, Scott said:

More than one was a little too judgmental and won't be posting for a while. 

 

"More than one". I will take you up on that.

[rudi49jr]

8 hours ago, Trouble said:

Nice, at least we are spared the public trial and taking care of him during a life sentence.

 

So you think it's better that he was shot dead? Because that's just what he wanted, to become a martyr and go to paradise and collect his 77 virgins. That is what all those islamist fruitcakes want. Better to capture them alive and lock them up in solitary confinement for life.

[mok199]

correct he was not French,( a privelage he lost,when he picked up that knife,) he was a terrorist...he is not a ''lone wolf'', he was a'' lone loon'' stop glorifying this type of attack by using the term wolf.wolfs are majestic pack animals with grace, pride and courage...he was a lone coward..period

Edited May 15, 2018 by mok199
speliings

[lovelomsak]

10 hours ago, Srikcir said:

The 21 y.o. assailant became French at the age of 13 when his mother obtained citizenship in 2010. What would vetting him better have changed anything?

Maybe have saved some lives .

[bert bloggs]

6 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

So you think it's better that he was shot dead? Because that's just what he wanted, to become a martyr and go to paradise and collect his 77 virgins. That is what all those islamist fruitcakes want. Better to capture them alive and lock them up in solitary confinement for life.

Trouble is ,thats not what happens ,they get a nice easy life watching tv ,playing games and radicalizing others ,so better dead .

[CG1 Blue]

4 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

Trouble is ,thats not what happens ,they get a nice easy life watching tv ,playing games and radicalizing others ,so better dead .

Agree.  Either dead or in a Guantanamo Bay still facility where he wouldn't be able to infect others with his ideology.

[Justfine]

10 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

So you think it's better that he was shot dead? Because that's just what he wanted, to become a martyr and go to paradise and collect his 77 virgins. That is what all those islamist fruitcakes want. Better to capture them alive and lock them up in solitary confinement for life.

Wrong. Waste of money and he's dead. No virgins to be had. He died a loser not a martyr.