Police investigating 18-year-old, known as Marine, who had been on a terrorism watchlist

The 18-year-old girlfriend of a gunman who claimed allegiance to Islamic State before killing four in a shooting spree and supermarket hostage-taking in southern France has been placed under formal investigation for terrorist conspiracy.

The woman, named in the media as Marine, appeared before judges on Monday, and is under investigation for conspiring with terrorists with a view to carrying out attacks. She remains in temporary police custody.



The state prosecutor François Molins said that – like the 25-year-old gunman, Radouane Lakdim – she had been on a watchlist for potential extremists.

Marine, who had converted to Islam aged 16, had shouted Allahu Akbar when police arrested her, the prosecutor said. Her phone contact with Lakdim had stopped in January but she is thought to have continued talking to him on secure apps. The morning of the attacks, she had posted a message on social media saying that unbelievers were promised to hell, Molins said. She denied being aware of or associated with the attacks.

Her sister told French television that she had shown no signs of radicalisation.

Marine, who lived with her parents, was arrested within hours of the attacks committed on Friday in Carcassonne and nearby Trèbes in southern France.

Lakdim, who was born in Morocco but moved to France as a baby and had French nationality since the age of 12, first shot dead a car passenger in Carcassonne on Friday morning, injuring the driver and stealing the car. He then drove towards a police barracks and shot at four officers out for a jog, seriously injuring one of them.

Next he targeted the Super U supermarket in nearby Trèbes, running in with a semi-automatic pistol, a hunting knife and three homemade explosives shouting that he was a soldier from Islamic State.

He first shot dead a supermarket butcher and then a pensioner at the tills. After police entered the store, the gendarme Lt-Col Arnaud Beltrame offered to swap places with a hostage who Lakdim was holding with a gun to her neck as a human shield. When Lakdim accepted, Beltrame – who had surrendered his police weapon – was held for over three hours before police stormed when they heard shots.

Beltrame, who had suffered bullet wounds to the body, died later from severe knife wounds across the neck. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will lead a national commemoration for Beltrame on Wednesday.

Lakdim was shot dead by police at the scene. He had been on a list of suspected extremists since 2014 and had been under surveillance. Earlier this month, he had been summoned by anti-terror police for questioning, a police source told AFP. Lakdim was sent a letter in March asking him to arrange a face-to-face meeting with agents from France’s domestic intelligence agency, DGSI. Shortly after he was sent the letter, he carried out the attacks.

A 17-year-old friend of Lakdim’s who had been questioned was released on Monday “due to the absence of incriminating evidence at this stage”, prosecutors said.

</s>Paris: A French prosecutor said the girlfriend of an attacker who killed hostages in a supermarket in southern France last week was a radicalised convert to Islam and that she shouted "Allahu akbar," or "God is Great," when she was arrested.

Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said the 18-year-old woman "shows all signs of radicalisation."

She was taken into custody hours after the 25-year-old Morocco-born gunman, Radouane Lakdim, killed four people on Friday before being killed by police who stormed the supermarket in Trebes.

The teenager told investigators that she converted to Islam when she was 16. She denied "having been informed and associated with the deadly project of her boyfriend," Molins said during a news conference.

But Molins said she posted online a Koran verse "indicating that infidels were promised to hell" just a few hours before the attacks.</s>PARIS (AP) — A French prosecutor said Monday the girlfriend of an attacker who killed hostages in a supermarket in southern France last week is a radicalized convert to Islam and that she shouted "Allahu akbar," or "God is Great," when she was arrested.

Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said the 18-year-old woman "shows all signs of radicalization."

She was taken into custody hours after the 25-year-old Morocco-born gunman, Radouane Lakdim, killed four people on Friday before being killed by police who stormed the supermarket in Trebes.

The woman told investigators that she converted to Islam when she was 16. She denied "having been informed and associated with the deadly project of her boyfriend," Molins said during a news conference.

But Molins said the girl posted online a Quran verse "indicating that infidels were promised to hell" just a few hours before the attacks.

On Friday, Lakdim carried out the attacks in Carcassonne and Trebes after dropping his younger sister at school in the morning, Molins said.

The Islamic State group claimed that the attacker was answering its call to target nations in the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS militants in Syria and Iraq.

A police officer, Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, was killed after swapping himself with a hostage being held by Lakdim in the supermarket.

Three people, including Beltrame, were killed in the supermarket in Trebes while a fourth person was killed earlier during a carjacking in the nearby city of Carcassonne.

When Beltrame entered the supermarket during the hostage situation, he started a negotiation with Lakdim, who had found shelter in the store's vault with the hostage.

"He (Beltrame) raised his hands in the air, dropped his weapon and asked to take the place of the person taken hostage," Molins said.

A few minutes after Beltrame entered the vault and offered himself as a hostage, Lakdim released the woman he was holding.

Beltrame then contacted his colleagues to ask them to leave the premises. He added the attacker was demanding the release of Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving assailant of the Nov. 13, 2015, attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead.

Beltrame surreptitiously left his cellphone on so that police outside could hear what was going on inside the supermarket. Molins said that several explosive devices were placed around the supermarket by Lakdim and the attacker threatened to set them off.

Elite police units stormed the store after hearing gunshots. They killed Lakdim and found their Beltrame seriously wounded.

Beltrame died in a local hospital on Saturday from several stab wounds "including a very severe injury in the trachea and larynx," Molins said.

The prosecutor said Lakdim arrived in France with his family in 1992 soon after he was born in Morocco.

Both a French and Moroccan national at first, he was then naturalized as a French citizen in 2004 when he was 12, following his father's naturalization.

Molins said Lakdim had been listed on a police register for radicalized people since 2014 because of its suspected links with the local Salafist circles. He was still under an ongoing and effective intelligence monitoring in the days leading up to the attacks, the prosecutor said.

But the surveillance didn't allow police to detect any warning signs that he was going to commit a violent action or any intention to go to Iraq or Syria, Molins said. When he was jailed in 2016, the prison administration noticed no visible sign of radicalization.

In addition to the 18-year-old woman, a 17-year-old male has also been in custody since Friday night. The second suspect was a "very good friend" of Lakdim and was under his religious influence, a witness told investigators.

He also denied any involvement in the preparation of the attacks during his questioning, Molins said.

A national memorial ceremony for Beltrame will be held Wednesday in the main courtyard of the Invalides monument, home to Napoleon's tomb, in the presence of Beltrame's family and the families of other victims of the attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron will attend and address the event.</s>PARIS, March 27 (Reuters) - French judges placed the 18-year old girlfriend of the Islamist gunman who killed four people in southern France last week under formal investigation, a judicial source said on Tuesday.

Named only as Marine P, Redouane Lakdim's partner is being investigated for terrorist conspiracy, the source said. She remains in temporary custody.

Under the French legal system, being "placed under investigation" is a step judicial investigators can take if they have serious grounds for suspecting an offence. It often but not always leads to trial.

Ladkim was shot dead by security forces at the scene.</s>PARIS - French prosecutors placed the 18-year old girlfriend of the Islamist gunman who killed four people in southern France last week under formal investigation, the prosecutor's office said in a statement on Tuesday.



Named only as Marine P, Redouane Lakdim's partner is being investigated for terrorist conspiracy, the prosecutor's office said. She remains in temporary custody.



In French legal jargon, being "placed under investigation" is a step judicial investigators can take if they have serious grounds for suspecting an offence. It often but not always leads to trial.</s>PARIS (AP) - The Latest on the southern France attack (all times local):

French authorities say the girlfriend of an Islamic extremist who attacked a supermarket in southern France last week is a radicalized convert to Islam and that she shouted "Allahu akbar," or "God is Great," when she was arrested.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Monday night the 18-year-old woman "shows all signs of radicalization."

She was taken into custody hours after the gunman killed four people on Friday before being fatally shot by police who stormed the supermarket in Trebes.

Molins said during a news conference that the woman told investigators that she denied "having been informed and associated with the deadly project of her boyfriend."

But Molins said the woman posted online a Quran verse "indicating that infidels were promised to hell" just a few hours before the attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed solidarity with France after the death of a police officer in an Islamic extremist attack last week.

Speaking during the visit to Jerusalem of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Netanyahu said: "We grieve with you over the loss of innocent French lives and of a true hero, the officer Arnaud Beltrame, a hero of humanity, not only a hero of France, and we understand this very well."

Beltrame died after exchanging places with a hostage during the attack Friday in southern France. Four people were killed, including the officer, at a supermarket and in a carjacking. The gunman was killed when police stormed the supermarket.

Le Drian thanked Netanyahu, saying that Beltrame "paid his life, his fight against terrorism. We have this fight in common; the basis of everything is security."

The pope has condemned the attacks in southern France, while lauding the "heroic act" of the French policeman who died after taking the place of a supermarket employee held hostage by an Islamic extremist.

Pope Francis has sent a telegram offering condolences for the loss of life in the attacks, and sympathy to the injured and their families and all those affected. He added: "I particularly welcome the generous and heroic act of Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, who gave his life to protect people."

The pope said that "I condemn such acts of indiscriminate violence which cause so much suffering, and fervently ask God for the gift of peace."

The rampage Friday claimed four victims, including Beltrame, two others in the supermarket and a carjacking victim. The Morocco-born attacker was killed by police when they stormed the supermarket, with Beltrame's help.

A French judicial official says the partner of the Islamist extremist who carried out an attack last week in southern France was, like him, known to police as radicalized.

The 18-year-old woman was still being detained Monday by police for questioning in the case, as well as a 17-year-old friend of gunman Radouane Lakdim, the official said. He was speaking anonymously to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Lakdim was known to police for drug-dealing, and since 2014 had been on the so-called "Fiche S" list, a government register of individuals suspected of being radicalized but who have yet to perform acts of terrorism.

Four people were killed in a carjacking and the supermarket attack Friday near the city of Carcassonne.

Lakdim was killed by police who stormed the supermarket.</s>A 23-year-old man arrested for harassing an ex-girlfriend is also...</s>SALE, Morocco (AP) — The latest on the Islamic extremist attack in southern France (all times local):

The head of Morocco's counterterrorism agency is concerned that France never alerted his country about the extremist behavior of the French-Moroccan gunman who carried out a deadly supermarket attack in southern France.

French authorities had monitored attacker Radouane Lakdim before the attack Friday, which killed four people. But the director of Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations told The Associated Press on Tuesday that "we were not notified" about Lakdim's background.

Normally French authorities share information on radicalized dual nationals, and Abdelhak Khiame calls the absence of communication an apparent "misunderstanding."

He says that since the attack, his agency has investigated Lakdim's family members in Morocco but has found no signs of radicalism. He says Lakdim's last visit to Morocco was in 2012 and didn't raise any suspicions.

Khiame's agency is considered like Morocco's FBI and it has helped European authorities investigate terrorism suspects in the past.

The girlfriend of an attacker who killed four people and took hostages in a French supermarket has been given preliminary terrorism charges in the investigation.

A French judicial official says the woman, identified only as Marine P., is in custody pending a hearing on whether to release her during the investigation.

The official says she was given preliminary charges Tuesday of association with terrorist criminals planning to prepare attacks. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and insisted on speaking anonymously.

Attacker Radouane Lakdim was killed by police after his rampage Friday. Authorities said he claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group.

French authorities say a 17-year-old male friend of an attacker who killed hostages in a supermarket in southern France last week has been released uncharged from custody.

The Paris prosecutor's office said the youth was freed Tuesday "in the absence of incriminating elements at this stage."

A witness told investigators the young man was a "very good friend" of 25-year-old gunman Radouane Lakdim and was under his religious influence.

The youth, who denied any involvement in the attacks during his questioning, had been in custody since hours after Lakdim killed four people in a rampage Friday before being killed by police who stormed the supermarket in Trebes.

After being questioned by police, Lakdim's girlfriend was to face French investigating judges later Tuesday night. The prosecutor's office has asked them to charge her with criminal terrorist association.

French lawmakers have paid tribute to the victims of an Islamic extremist attack at a supermarket in southern France.

Lawmakers at the National Assembly in Paris observed a minute of silence Tuesday for the four people who died in Friday's attack.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said since January 2015, French intelligence services have thwarted 51 attacks. In addition, 17 other attacks have failed and 11 have taken place.

He says "this is a difficult combat we will have to fight, a terrible combat, a hand-to-hand struggle, in which we will have successes — we had some — and in which we might have failures."

A national memorial is being held Wednesday in Paris to honor Lt-Col. Arnaud Beltrame, the officer who lost his life after swapping himself with a hostage.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The Latest on the Islamic attack in southern France (all times local):

French authorities say a 17-year-old male friend of an attacker who killed hostages in a supermarket in southern France last week has been released uncharged from custody.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the youth was freed Tuesday “in the absence of incriminating elements at this stage.”

A witness told investigators the young man was a “very good friend” of 25-year-old gunman Radouane Lakdim and was under his religious influence.

The youth, who denied any involvement in the attacks during his questioning, had been in custody since hours after Lakdim killed four people in a rampage Friday before being killed by police who stormed the supermarket in Trebes.

After being questioned by police, Lakdim’s girlfriend was to face French investigating judges later Tuesday night. The prosecutor’s office has asked them to charge her with criminal terrorist association.

French lawmakers have paid tribute to the victims of an Islamic extremist attack at a supermarket in southern France.

Lawmakers at the National Assembly in Paris observed a minute of silence Tuesday for the four people who died in Friday’s attack.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said since January 2015, French intelligence services have thwarted 51 attacks. In addition, 17 other attacks have failed and 11 have taken place.

He says “this is a difficult combat we will have to fight, a terrible combat, a hand-to-hand struggle, in which we will have successes — we had some — and in which we might have failures.”

A national memorial is being held Wednesday in Paris to honor Lt-Col. Arnaud Beltrame, the officer who lost his life after swapping himself with a hostage.</s>French gendarmerie four star general Richard Lizurey, head of DGGN (Direction Générale de la Gendarmerie Nationale), speaks to journalists outside the Gendarmerie Nationale offices in Carcassonne, on March 25, 2018. — AFP picPARIS, March 27 — French investigators yesterday quizzed the radicalised girlfriend of the Islamist gunman who shot dead four people last week in southern France, including a heroic policeman killed after taking the place of a hostage.

Policeman Arnaud Beltrame was the fourth person killed during Radouane Lakdim’s rampage in the towns of Carcassonne and Trebes that also left three people injured.

Beltrame’s mother Nicole said she was not surprised that her 44-year-old son offered to be swapped for a woman held hostage by Lakdim at a supermarket in the sleepy town of Trebes.

“I know Arnaud: loyal, altruistic, and since he was small, working for other people, committed to the country,” she said, adding the practising Catholic would have wanted his act to make people “a bit more tolerant”.

Lakdim, a 25-year-old Moroccan-born French national who was on a watchlist of suspected extremists, also killed a butcher and an elderly shopper when he stormed the Super U supermarket after firing at police and shooting dead a man when hijacking a car in Carcassonne.

During the siege he said he was acting on behalf of the Islamic State group and demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect in the November 2015 Paris terror attacks.

Yesterday, police continued to question his 18-year-old girlfriend, who converted to Islam at 16 and had also been on the watchlist of potential radicals.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters that she shouted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) while in custody, but denied any prior knowledge of Lakdim’s attack plans.

A 17-year-old man described as a friend of Lakdim’s who was under his sway, is also in custody over the attack.

He too denies any involvement, Molins said.

Under France’s anti-terrorism laws, the two suspects can be held for up to 96 hours without charge.

Over 200 officers are probing the latest in a string of jihadist attacks that have claimed the lives of over 240 people around France since January 2015.

President Emmanuel Macron will lead a national commemoration to Beltrame at Invalides military museum in Paris on Wednesday, his office said.

Pope Francis, in a message to the Catholic Church in Carcassonne, saluted “the generous and heroic gesture of Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, who gave his life in trying to protect others.”

Richard Lizurey, the head of France’s gendarmes police service, said Beltrame took the initiative to swap places with a woman being used by Lakdim as a human shield at the Super U supermarket in Trebes.

Beltrame’s widow Marielle told the Christian weekly La Vie that his actions were “the act of a gendarme and of a Christian.”

Lakdim came to France with his family in 1992 as an infant and gained citizenship 12 years later.

He dabbled in drugs and petty crime and in 2016 spent a month in prison but prison authorities “detected no visible sign of radicalisation”, Molins said.

But investigators have found notes at his home in Carcassonne referring to the Islamic State group, a legal source said, including a handwritten letter in which he claimed allegiance to the jihadists.

Armed with a gun, knife and homemade explosive devices, he remained holed up for over two hours at the Super U supermarket with Beltrame, who took the place of a female hostage.

Beltrame was fatally stabbed in the throat by Lakdim shortly before police stormed the store, ending the siege.

Hundreds of mourners packed a church service Sunday for the victims of France’s latest Islamist attack.

Asked if she felt hatred towards Lakdim, Beltrame’s mother replied: “Not at all. I feel indifference and the greatest sense of contempt.”

She also suggested not even talking about him, “not showing his photo. We should show the photos of heroes, not killers and monsters.” — AFP
In regards to the March 23 attack that killed four people, French state prosecutor François Molins charges attacker Radouane Lakdim's 18-year-old girlfriend with terrorist conspiracy.