THE Islamic State (IS) group said Tuesday that two of its "soldiers" had attacked a French church, slitting a priest’s throat in a country stunned by a series of jihadist attacks.The hostage drama in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray comes with France already shaken to the core after a massacre in the French Riviera city of Nice less than two weeks ago, which left 84 people dead and was also claimed by IS.President Francois Hollande said the two men who stormed a church before killing the elderly Catholic priest had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group before being shot dead by police.Shortly afterwards the IS-linked Amaq news agency, citing a "security source", said the perpetrators were "soldiers of the Islamic State who carried out the attack in response to calls to target countries of the crusader coalition".The two attackers stormed the church during morning mass, taking the five people inside hostage, including the priest, interior ministry spokesman Pierr...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.