France church attack: Men who killed elderly priest in Normandy hostage crisis pledged allegiance to Isis

Two armed men who murdered a priest in an attack on a French church claimed to be members of Isis, President François Hollande has said.

Speaking from the scene of the attack in Normandy, Mr Hollande said France was “at war” with the terrorist group.

He condemned the killing of the church’s 86-year-old priest, whose throat was said to have been slit by the attackers.

A nun who was in the church – identified as Sister Danielle – said the priest was forced to the ground before two attackers slit his throat.

Sister Danielle said: “They forced him to his knees. He wanted to defend himself. And that's when the tragedy happened.”

“They recorded themselves. They did a sort of sermon around the altar, in Arabic. It's a horror,” she told BFM television.

Of her fallen colleague, she said: “He was a great priest.”

Praising the work of emergency services who killed the men and freed the rest of the five hostages, including one who is in a serious condition, Mr Hollande said he had spoken to the three uninjured victims in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.

“The cowardly assassination of the priest [was carried out by] two terrorists who claimed to be followers of Daesh [Isis],” he added.

“I have met the family of the priest and I also wanted to talk to the people who had been held hostage and express pain, sadness and also the will to understand why this happened.”

The French President said Isis had declared war on his country and that the government would fight the group “with all means possible”.

Isis issued a claim of responsibility minutes after Mr Hollande’s statement via its Amaq propaganda agency.

It called the two attackers “soldiers of the Islamic State”, echoing statements on the recent attacks in Nice, Ansbach and Wurzburg.

The group frequently claims responsibility for attacks carried out by supporters or “lone wolf” attackers following media reports of their allegiance, regardless of any prior communication or organisation.

Calling on citizens not to be divided by the attack, Mr Hollande added that his thoughts were with all Catholics and announced a memorial service on Tuesday evening.

Dominique Lebrun, the Archbishop of Rouen, named the priest as 84-year-old Father Jacques Hamel and called for “prayer and brotherhood” in the face of terror.

The French interior ministry said one injured hostage was in a serious condition in hospital, while another was also wounded.

The two attackers stormed the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray during a service at around 10am local time (9am BST) on Tuesday, taking the priest, two nuns and several members of the congregation hostage.

The crisis continued for around an hour before the armed men were shot dead by police when they emerged in a courtyard outside the church.

One of the attackers was reportedly jailed for attempting to travel to Syria to join Isis in 2015 and was wearing an electronic tracking device at the time of the attack, police sources told French media.

The man was reportedly jailed for almost a year but released on parole, despite known links with extremists.

The Paris prosecutor said the attack was being investigated by the national counter-terrorism task force (SDAT) and the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) intelligence agency.

One person has so far been detained in connection with the investigation.

The Vatican condemned the “barbarous killing”, while the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, wrote on Twitter: “Evil attacks the weakest, denies truth and love, is defeated through Jesus Christ. Pray for France, for victims, for their communities.”

The incident came under a fortnight after the Nice attack, when 84 people were killed and more than 300 injured by an Isis supporter who drove a lorry into crowds celebrating Bastille Day.

France has been on high alert since the so-called Islamic State's bombings and shootings in Paris on 13 November last year.