Text messages of the two Islamist men who murdered Father Jaques Hamel and a “sponsor” in Syria reveal how the terrorists chose to target the elderly priest.
Five years after the deadly attack which saw Father Jaques Hamel murdered in his church while delivering mass in Normandy, French media have published text messages of Islamist attackers Abdel-Malik Petitjean and Adel Kermiche and their “sponsor” Rachid Kassim, an Islamic State member in Syria, believed to have originated from Roanne in the Loire Valley.
Petitjean is revealed to have messaged Kassim asking for advice on targets saying, “Is a synagogue good?” with the man from Syria responding that nightclubs and cafes were better targets, Le Point reports.
Kermiche wrote to another radical Islamist asking about joining the terror group in the Middle East or committing an attack in France.
France Honours Priest Slain by Islamic Terrorists https://t.co/q4elxNvHFS
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 30, 2019
Kermiche was told by the contact that the terror group was specifically looking for ex-soldiers, scientists or science students, and computer scientists, and that those without the relevant skills should serve the cause by committing a suicide bombing.
Other texts from the pair’s “sponsor” gave instructions on committing their terrorist attack, including: “You take a knife, you go to a church, you do some carnage, you slice two or three heads, it’s good.”
Kassim continued to order the two men to shoot videos pledging their allegiance to the Islamic State and former leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and stated that he was eager to see them on France’s broadcaster BFMTV after their attack. “Have no mercy for these people,” he wrote.
The final text message was sent six days before Kermiche and Petitjean stormed the Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church and murdered Father Hamel by slitting his throat. Hamel’s words just before death were said to have been: “Begone, Satan!”
The jihadists were subsequently shot by the police.
French Priest Slain by Jihadists Moves Towards Sainthood https://t.co/QMSRgytLdN via @BreitbartNews
— Thomas D. Williams, PhD (@tdwilliamsrome) April 11, 2019
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