Paris attack : Car rams police van , armed suspect dead

[airtel]

Car rams police van on Champs-Elysees, armed suspect dead
By Melissa Bell, Saskya Vandoorne and Joe Sterling, CNN

Updated 0650 GMT (1450 HKT) June 20, 2017

Car rams into Paris police 00:48
Story highlights

• Four of the driver's family members are being held by police
• Five attacks in four months on security forces in Paris

Paris (CNN)Tourists strolling along Paris' famous Champs-Elysees on Monday afternoon watched in horror as a car rammed into a police van -- and some witnessed the car burst into flames as police grabbed the man inside and put him on the ground.

The armed driver deliberately plowed into the police vehicle and later died, authorities said.
"We were waiting to cross the street and suddenly heard an explosion and the car was in flames," said Eugenio Morcilla, who captured video after the collision. "The police acted very quickly."
Early Tuesday, the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed four of the driver's family members were being held by police.
@rtve el momento después de la explosión del coche en #ChampsElysees, forcejean con el sospechoso para sacarlo pic.twitter.com/o4km0SByTJ

— Eugenio Morcillo (@elugeescojonudo) June 19, 2017
It's the latest in a series of terror attacks this year against security forces in the French capital. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an anti-terror investigation.
"Once again, France's security forces have been targeted in an attempted attack on the Champs-Elysées," Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters on Monday.
According to CNN affiliate BFMTV, the driver was under what is known as a "Fiche S" file, a French terror/radicalization watch list composed of thousands of names, of which some are under active surveillance. Active surveillance means that they are on law enforcement's radar, not necessarily under rigorous surveillance.
Police officers and pedestrians stand by a sealed-off area of the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris after a car crashed into a police van Monday.
The incident, which took place at 3:40 p.m. local time (9:40 a.m. ET), began when a police squadron drove down the Champs-Elysses and an individual hit the first vehicle of the squad.
"The car contained weapons, explosives, enough to allow him to blow up this car," Collomb said.
#ChampsElysees assailant seen here on the ground has died says #france interior minister pic.twitter.com/m2gVE3RuS8

— Melissa Bell (@MelissaBellCNN) June 19, 2017
The small white car caught on fire after the collision, but neither officers nor members of the public were hurt, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.
Morcilla, who was in Paris on vacation with his girlfriend, took video of the aftermath of the attack.
"They got out of a police truck and tried to break the glass and take the man out, they shot and threw tear gas and they took him out by force..." he said.
A bomb disposal police officer checks a car in a sealed off area on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on Monday.
Security forces were working to identify the weapons in the vehicle, and they are investigating "the individual's past and see what motives pushed him to take action," Collomb said.
"This shows once again that the threat level in France is extremely high," the interior minister said.
Police cordon growing around #ChampsElysees pic.twitter.com/aeyqD3p6GF

— Melissa Bell (@MelissaBellCNN) June 19, 2017
Earlier, police advised people to avoid the area, as about 20 police vans and several armed officers surrounded the man on the ground.
It's the fifth time in four months that security forces have been attacked in the capital.
-- Last month, a man attacked an officer with a hammer at Notre-Dame Cathedral, proclaiming, "This is for Syria," Collomb said. The officer's injuries were not serious.
-- In April, a man shot at police officers -- also on the Champs-Elysees -- killing one officer and wounding two others. Police shot and killed Karim Cheurfi as he tried to escape on the busy tourist boulevard. ISIS said the man was one of its fighters, and Cheurfi had a note defending ISIS in his pocket.
#ChampsElysées : je viens de me rendre sur les lieux de l'attaque qui visait nos forces de sécurité. pic.twitter.com/9Rg7PEIJ5s

— Gérard Collomb (@gerardcollomb) June 19, 2017
-- In March, a man holding a gun on a French female soldier at Orly Airport shouted, "I am here to die in the name of Allah ... There will be deaths," before two of the soldier's comrades shot the attacker dead.
-- In February, a soldier shot a machete-wielding man who rushed toward a group of soldiers and guards near the Louvre museum.
CNN's Alanne Orjoux contributed to this report.


http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/19/europe/paris-police-operation/index.html

 

[airtel]

Paris attack: Champs-Elysees driver had explosives and rifle, was flagged for extremism
Published June 19, 2017
Fox News


A suspect who tried to attack security forces on the Champs-Elysees shopping district in Paris Monday afternoon -- when he rammed his car into a police van -- had a rifle and explosives in his vehicle, French investigators said.

The attacker died shortly after the incident, the French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said. The attacker, a 31-year-old man from the Paris suburb of Argenteuil, was badly burned after his car exploded when he deliberately crashed it into a police van. The police van caught fire, but it was quickly contained, officials said. The bomb squad was called to the scene.

Authorities discovered a gas tank and an AK-47 rifle in the attacker's car, Fox News confirmed. The man had been flagged by investigators earlier for extremism, French police said.

Large explosion and shots fired on Champs Elysee #Paris looks like on person on ground.. everyone told to run.. pic.twitter.com/NTXVDgYS8J

— Andrew Hawley (@aelhawley) June 19, 2017
The attacker was identified as Adam Dzaziri. Dzaziri, who had been raised in the Salafi Islamic ideology, didn’t have a criminal record but he had been on France’s security watch list since 2015 due to ties to “the radical Islamist movement,” according to news.com.au.

France's anti-terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation into the incident.

#ChampsÉlysées 1 véhicule #GendarmerieMobile 32/7 percuté par 1 voiture. Aucun blessé, conducteur interpellé #Paris https://t.co/VB8g7GUtEt

— GendarmerieNationale (@Gendarmerie) June 19, 2017
Eric Favereau, a journalist for Liberation newspaper who was driving a scooter behind the military officers, said he saw a car blocking the convoy's path, then an implosion in the vehicle. Favereau wrote that the officers smashed open the windows of the car while it was in flames and dragged out its occupant.

Other officers used fire extinguishers to put out the flames, Favereau said.

There were no other reported injuries.

We encourage US citizens in #Paris to advise family members in US of your safety & follow advice of French authorities @StateDept @TravelGov https://t.co/dgEYqZ8H23

— Heather Nauert (@statedeptspox) June 19, 2017
Champs-Elysees is Paris' most popular avenue and one of the city's most famous tourist attractions. This was the second incident on the avenue this year. An attacker defending the Islamic State terror group shot and killed a police officer on the Champs-Elysees in April, days before a presidential election, prompting an extensive security operation. France is under a state of emergency after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks.

Collomb said said he will present a bill on Wednesday at a Cabinet meeting to extend the state of emergency from July 15, its current expiration date, until Nov. 1. He added that Monday's incident showed that a new security law "is needed" in France and the measure would "maintain a high security level" beyond the end of the state of emergency.

France has been under a state of emergency since the November 2015 attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris.

The incident also came after a van mowed down several people leaving a London mosque just after midnight on Monday. One person died and 10 people were injured in the assault.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/0...ice-vehicle-in-champs-elysees-police-say.html