1 week Ago By RFI
A village in southern France has been left reeling after a young worshipper was fatally attacked inside a mosque during Friday prayers, as police continue their search for the suspect. French police are continuing their hunt this weekend for a man suspected of killing a Muslim worshipper inside a mosque in the south of the country, while allegedly filming the brutal attack on a mobile phone and shouting insults against Islam. The victim was fatally stabbed on Friday morning in the village of La Grand-Combe, in the Gard region of southern France.
According to regional prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini on Saturday, the attacker remains at large. While the motive for the crime remains unclear, security camera footage reportedly shows the suspect hurling insults at "Allah" – the Arabic word for God. Posting on X, the Grand Mosque of Paris condemned the attack, calling it an "abominable act of extreme gravity committed inside a mosque, a house of God.
"We call on the authorities to take stock of this crime, to quickly shed light on its particularly worrying motives and circumstances, and to find the perpetrator, who is being investigated for murder," it added. French Prime Minister François Bayrou has denounced the stabbing, saying: "We stand with the victim's loved ones , with the believers who are so shocked. State resources are mobilised to ensure the killer is apprehended and punished".
The alleged attacker is said to have recorded the attack on his phone, capturing distressing footage of the victim in agony, which he later sent to another person. In contrast, the assailant had never been seen there before. Read more on RFI English Read also: How French Muslims have wrestled with Charlie Hebdo's impact, 10 years on France dumps Muslim advisory council that is 'under foreign influence' Global NGOs call on EU to probe French 'state-sponsored Islamophobia'.
