A police officer escorts airport employees outside the Orly airport, south of Paris. Source: AAP. Man shot dead at Paris Orly airport after taking soldier's gun: official. Greek anarchists 'likely' behind IMF Paris letter bomb. Louvre suspect on attempted murder charge.
Share this with family and friends. Paris airport attacker said he was 'ready to die for Allah' Troops at Paris' Orly airport on Saturday shot dead a man who tried to grab a female soldier's weapon saying he was ready to die for Allah, triggering a major security alert that caused travel chaos.
The incident comes as France remains on high alert following a series of jihadist attacks that have claimed more than lives since January I'm here to die for Allah. In any case people are going to die," the man told three patrolling soldiers, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters late Saturday, giving an account of the attack. Related reading. A cousin of the attacker was also detained, as well as his father and brother, he added. Flights were halted at Orly for several hours, with incoming flights diverted and thousands of passengers stranded at Paris' second-largest airport, but normal service resumed mid-afternoon.
France goes to the polls on April 23 in the first round of a two-stage presidential election in which security is one of the main issues on voters' minds. Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said the attacker, who he named as Ziyed Ben Belgacem, was "known to the police and intelligence services". He said the suspect was also linked to an attack on police just north of Paris earlier on Saturday in which an officer was slightly wounded. At the airport, the year-old man knocked the soldier to the ground and grabbed at her rifle, a senior military source said.
Soldiers patrol at Orly airport, south of Paris. According to an eyewitness who spoke to AFP, the man had at one point grabbed the female soldier by the neck. The incident took place at around am GMT in the south terminal. Around 3, people were evacuated from the building. Investigated for radicalism. Addressing reporters at the airport, Le Roux said Ben Belgacem had tried "but not succeeded" in his bid to grab the soldier's rifle. He said the same man was also suspected of opening fire on police during a routine traffic inspection in the northern Paris suburb of Garges-les-Gonesse at around am GMT.
