a French Foreign Legion Forum

Welcome! Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Hostage situation

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
"A person is holding hostages at a supermarket in Trèbes, south-western France, multiple media reports say.

The individual, who is said to be armed, has claimed allegiance to the Islamic State terror group, AFP reported state prosecutors as saying.
Eric Menassi, the mayor of Trèbes, told BFM TV that there were two victims not yet identified, with the hostage taker still inside the supermarket.

Eight people are believed to be inside the store, Reuters reported.
Police special forces have rushed to the Super U shop in Trèbes, near Carcassonne, 91km south-east of Toulouse. Counter-terror officers are investigating, Reuters reported.

The situation began around 11 am and the hostage-taker opened fire, said the source, quoted by HuffPost France.
A witness said that the gunman reportedly shouted “Allah Akbar” when he entered the supermarket, according to sources close to the investigation.

Europe 1 radio and BFM TV also said an individual was holding hostages in the supermarket.
France’s Interior Ministry earlier said security officials were carrying out an operation at a supermarket in town of Trèbes, but gave no details.
In other developments on Friday morning, a police officer was shot while jogging some 10km away from the supermarket.
It is not clear if the two incidents are connected.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Check back for the fullest version. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter here, and on Facebook here."
 

Le petit caporal

Legionnaire
Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Messages
5,490
Reaction score
4,188
Location
Nimes
Home Country
North Korea
4 membres of the CRS Marseille, jogging @ Carcassonne. An individuel drives past and opens fire and wounds one, to the shoulder (I bet, an Audi A3 or VW Golf was used)

Update : a "small" car has been found, belonging to a Morrocan citizen. The hostage taker : armed with a 7.65 and grenade (s). Is the hostage taker, the same person who opened fire on the CRS ?
 
Last edited:

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
Anything I've read says it isn't confirmed if both attacks are related. Surely they are but maybe not the same attacker.
 

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
Police confirm at least two people killed in hostage-taking
French police have confirmed that two people have been killed and about a dozen wounded in the supermarket hostage-taking.
However, the casualty toll is likely to rise, the regional head of the gendarmes said. "We are unfortunately expecting to find more victims," he told Sud-Ouest newspaper.
A spokesman with the national police service said that it is unclear whether there are still hostages inside the store. The spokesman said a police operation to apprehend the assailant is still under way.
12:12pm
Attacker reported to be Moroccan national known to French intelligence services
The attacker is a Moroccan national known to France's intelligence services, according to La Depeche, a regional newspaper.
The authorities have so far given no details about the man's identity.
12:10pm
Hostage-taker 'demanding release of Salah Abdeslam'
A French TV station reports that the hostage-taker has demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving member of the Isil cell that attacked Paris in November 2015 and killed 130 people.
He is currently in a prison near Paris awaiting trial for those attacks.
12:03pm
French PM: We believe this is a terrorist act
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said: "The information which we currently have to hand makes us believe that this is a terrorist act."
He said he will cut short a visit to the eastern town of Mulhouse and return to Paris to monitor the situation in Trebes and will "remain in constant contact with the president," Emmanuel Macron, who is in Brussels today for a European Council meeting.
Meanwhile, around 50 people who fled the supermarket have taken refuge in a Peugeot garage next to the store.
11:46am
Attacker shouted Allahu Akbar as he burst into store - witness
The hostage-taker has killed at least one person inside the supermarket, a police union official said, reports Rory Mulholland.
The hostage-taking began at 11am local time when a man burst into the supermarket and fired shots, the local prosecutor’s office said. Local police said they believed one or two people were hit hit by the gunfire.
One witness said the attacker had shouted Allahu Akbar as he burst into the store.
11:34am
Attacker wanted to 'take revenge for Syria'
The attacker, who is believed to be in his 30s, has one or more grenades and said that he wanted to "take revenge for Syria", sources told the Dépêche du Midi newspaper.
Local media said it was the same man who shot the police officers and then took refuge in the supermarket, but this has not been confirmed.
11:25am
Two confirmed injured in supermarket hostage-taking
The Mayor of Trebes has told BFM TV that there are at least two people injured in the supermarket-hostage situation.
11:17am
Policeman injured after man opens fire on officers
A man opened fire on four French police officers before fleeing the scene in Carcassonne. He is reported to have fired five shots.
One police officer was injured after he was shot in the shoulder. He is being treated in hospital.
It has not yet been confirmed if this incident is linked to the hostage-taking in nearby Trebes.
11:15am
Counter-terror investigation launched into hostage-taking
Counter-terrorism prosecutors are investigating the incident, a source in Paris said.
11:15am
People urged to avoid area around supermarket
The French Interior Ministry said on its Twitter account Friday that police and rescue operations were the priority.
Authorities in the Aude region are warning people to avoid the area around the supermarket.
 

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
(i bet, an Audi A3 or VW golf was used)

Is the hostage taker, the same person who opened fire on the CRS ?

1:05pm
Car used by man in police shooting found at supermarket - police sources
The car of the man who fired at riot police near Carcassonne has been found in the car park of the supermarket where an armed man has holed up after reportedly killing at least one person, AFP has reported citing police sources.
This would suggest that - as suspected - the two attacks were carried out by the same man.

EDIT: Picture of the car is a Citroen.
 

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
1:30pm
Gunman shot motorist in head before stealing car to drive to supermarket
Police have found a body in bushes in Carcassonne and another man there who suffered bullet wounds is being treated in hospital, local media reported.
The gunman is believed to have shot a motorist in the head - and also injured the passenger - before stealing the car to drive to the Trebes supermarket.
Bruno Bartocetti, the regional representative of the SGP police union, said the Carcassonne attacker is believed to the same person who has taken hostages in Trebes.
Local media report that the Trebes attacker is a Moroccan man who lived in Carcassonne.
1:19pm
Customers escape after hiding in freezer room for an hour
One woman who was shopping in the Trebes supermarket when the attacker burst in said she and other customers hid in a freezer room for an hour before managing to escape.
"A man started shouting and fired a gun several times," the shopper, who was not named, told France Info radio.
"I saw a door into a freezer room and I told other people around me to come and take refuge there. There were ten of us and we stayed there for an hour.
"There were more shots and we eventually got out through an emergency exit at the back."
Another witness said the attacker was armed with a gun, knives and a hand grenade.
 

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
1:50pm
Breaking: Police 'shoot supermarket attacker' dead
The hostage-taker has been shot dead by police who moved in on the supermarket, French media has reported.
 

Le petit caporal

Legionnaire
Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Messages
5,490
Reaction score
4,188
Location
Nimes
Home Country
North Korea
Carcassonne is the home of the 3 RPIMA,btw

Known to the secret services, no doubt ?
 

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
"The attacker is a Moroccan national known to France's intelligence services, according to La Depeche, a regional newspaper."

But still managed to get his hands on a firearm and grenade without them finding out. :rolleyes:
 

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
2:17pm
'We got him!' shouts police officer after attacker is shot dead
A police officer emerged from the supermarket where the hostage-taker was holed up and shouted: "We got him, we got him!"
A journalist from the local La Depeche newspaper described the scene as police moved in to put an end to the incident.
They wrote: "I saw a dozen police from the GIGN (an elite police corps specialised in hostage and terror situations) go inside the Super U supermarket.
"From the outside you couldn't hear any shots being fired. Very quickly after this assault ambulances and a helicopter arrived at the car park.
"Then security forces sent sniffer dogs into the building. I saw a police officer come out, shouting: 'We got him, we got him!"
2:13pm
President Emmanuel Macron: 'All evidence suggests' this is terror attack
French President Emmanuel Macron said "all evidence suggests" the shootings in southern France are a terrorist attack.
Speaking in Brussels, where he is attending an EU summit, Macron offered his "full support" to everyone involving in the situation.
2:10pm
Military officer swapped himself for supermarket hostage
Interior Minister Gerard Collomb confirmed that French police killed the gunman who was holed up in the Super U store.
It also emerged that a French military officer took the place of a supermarket hostage.
The 45-year old lieutenant-colonel swapped himself in exchange of one of the hostages, a source close to the investigation said.
 

Le petit caporal

Legionnaire
Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Messages
5,490
Reaction score
4,188
Location
Nimes
Home Country
North Korea
This is surely going to cause a bit of a uproar (the attacker being known to the services) Foreigner too, legal or illegal immigrant ? Woul be intresting to know how he earns his up keep. Dealer ?
Grenades can be bought on the black market here, quite easily.
 

dusaboss

Hyper Active Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
4,545
Reaction score
1,640
Location
Serbia
Home Country
Yugoslavia
They will blame it on Serbs. They always do with illegal weapons in France. Which type of weapon was it? If it's an AK-47 there's good chance that it was made in Serbia.
 
Last edited:

Le petit caporal

Legionnaire
Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Messages
5,490
Reaction score
4,188
Location
Nimes
Home Country
North Korea
Was a hand gun, Dussa. ..when he fired at the police, shot off 5 rounds and then the gun jammed (and wasnt able to clear it, just as well. ..but later got sorted, he shot the owner of the car, from what i understand and some one else, maybe at the super market

As it happens : Morroco plays Serbia tonight, football (freindly)
 

dusaboss

Hyper Active Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
4,545
Reaction score
1,640
Location
Serbia
Home Country
Yugoslavia
Was a hand gun, Dussa. ..when he fired at the police, shot off 5 rounds and then the gun jammed (and wasnt able to clear it, just as well.
That crap ain't made in Serbia. :)



As it happens : Morroco plays Serbia tonight, football (freindly)

I lost belief in our football team long time ago. They do fair job on friendlies and qualifications, but when comes to real competition it hurts to watch if you are Serb.
 

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
3:00pm
Isil claims responsibility for France attack
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, but gave no evidence for the claim.
2:59pm
Police officer who swapped himself for hostage suffered bullet wound
Interior Minister Gerard Collomb has confirmed that a gendarme who offered himself in exchange for hostages held in the supermarket was injured.
He said that the lieutenant-colonel suffered a bullet wound during the assault in which the hostage taker was shot dead by police.
2:48pm
Attacker named as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim
The man who killed at least three people in attacks in southern France was a 26-year old known for petty crimes and possession of drugs, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters, adding that he acted alone.
Collomb named the attacker as Redouane Lakdim and said he was from nearby Carcassonne, where the attacks started.
"He was known for petty crimes. We had monitored him and thought there was no radicalisation," Collomb said.
2:35pm
Attacker was 'radicalised petty criminal under surveillance'
The suspect in a supermarket hostage-taking in southern France who killed three people is believed to have acted alone, the French interior minister has said.
He described the unnamed attacker as a "radicalised petty criminal under surveillance". Although he was known to authorities, he was "not considered an Islamist threat", the minister added.
2:30pm
Suspect was 'pleasant young man who... always had a nice word to say'
Police have raided the home in Carcassonne of the man suspected of carrying out the supermarket attack in Trebes, Le Parisien newspaper reported. It said police had also raided the homes of his associates and relatives.
One neighbour told the newspaper the suspect was a pleasant young man who was "calm, friendly, and always had a nice word to say."
He reportedly lived in an apartment block with his parents and sisters, and would take the youngest child to school every day.
 

Joseph Cosgrove

Moderator
Legionnaire
Joined
Jul 13, 2013
Messages
9,556
Reaction score
7,900
Location
Thailand
Home Country
New Zealand
Le petit caporal, I agree there will be questions to answer by the DGSI. But I can only sympathize with them.. How did he get under the radar? Basically he wasn't on the radar, an Arab with a history of small delinquency. No shortage of them. And let's be honest the security services are overworked.

What I did find alarming watching a French news channel was that the commentator said that it has only recently come to light the interior security have said that they are under staffed in Arabic speakers? ! Can this be real?
 

Le petit caporal

Legionnaire
Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Messages
5,490
Reaction score
4,188
Location
Nimes
Home Country
North Korea
The profile describes him exactly as i was guessing, no suprise
With 2 REI in Iraq, i wonder if and when Nîmes get targeted ?
 
Top