Radical Islamist Takes Selfie With Beheaded Victim
The suspect in Friday’s gruesome terror attack in France took a selfie with his beheaded victim.
Police say Yassine Salhi sent the photo to a man who allegedly has been in war-torn Syria since last year.
Officials say Salhi has a history of ties to Islamic extremists, and they’re trying to figure out if he carried out the attack for an international terrorist group.
The beheading of victims is common practice for the Islamic State, and ISIS has called for supporters to carry out attacks during the Muslim month of Ramadan.
Salhi is accused of decapitating his boss before allegedly crashing a truck into a U.S.-owned chemical warehouse on Friday, setting off an explosion. That’s when he hung his employer’s head on the factory’s gate. He was quickly arrested afterward.
French authorities say Salhi had links to radical Salafists, who preach an ultraconservative form of Islam.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Salafists were present in France.
“We are living under a major terrorist threat, and this terrorist threat is going to last,” Valls said told i-Tele TV. “We should know we’re going to fight this terrorism over the long term.”