A man was shot dead during a dramatic police operation in the Paris suburbs late Monday, hours after he had stabbed a police officer to death. / AFP PHOTO /
PARIS, France (AFP) — A man suspected to have killed a French policeman and his partner in a terror-linked attack had been sentenced in 2013 for taking part in a jihadist organisation with links to Pakistan, sources close to the probe said Tuesday.
They identified him as Larossi Abballa, 25, adding that he had been sentenced to a three-year term — six months of which were suspended — for “criminal association with the aim of preparing terrorist acts,” in a trial with seven other defendants.
A policeman and his partner were killed at their home in the northwestern Paris suburb of Magnanville late Monday.
The stabbing attack was carried out by a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group, sources close to the investigation said earlier.
The Elysee presidential palace said President Francois Hollande was meeting Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas.
Witnesses told investigators the man may have shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) as he stabbed the policeman repeatedly outside his home before holing up inside with the woman and the couple’s three-year-old son.
Loud detonations were heard at the scene as elite RAID police moved in following failed negotiations with the attacker, who claimed allegiance to IS while talking to officers, sources close to the inquiry told AFP.
The couple’s toddler son was “in shock but unharmed,” a prosecutor added, saying the boy was receiving medical attention.
A news agency linked to IS said the attack had been carried out by an “Islamic State fighter”, days after posting a similar claim following the massacre at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.
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