On 19 June 2017, a car loaded with guns and explosives was rammed into a convoy of

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

vehicles on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. The driver, identified as Djaziri Adam Lotfi was killed as a detonation clouded the car in orange smoke. The attacker had been on terrorism watchlists for

Islamic extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic unde ...

since 2014, and pledged his allegiance to

Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before the attack. In a letter to his family he stated that he for years had supported "the Mujahedeen who fight to save Islam and the Muslims," having practiced shooting "to prepare for jihad," and stated that the attack should be treated as a "martyrdom operation."

Background

Police officers, gendarmes and soldiers providing security in France have also previously been targeted by jihadists, with at least twelve such targeted attacks on police and soldiers between 2012 and 2017. The attack came two months after another attack on the Champs-Élysées in April, in which three police officers and a tourist were shot by a man wielding an AK-47, killing one police officer. The Islamic State has encouraged the targeting of police and soldiers on the grounds that they represent the state. The attack is one of several Islamic State-inspired vehicle-ramming attacks on European cities. ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' reported that since January 2015, terrorist attacks in France have left 239 dead.

Incident

At 3:40 pm local time in Paris a convoy of Gendarmerie vans was driving up the Champs-Élysées when a terrorist rammed his silver

Renault Mégane The Renault Mégane () is a small family car produced by the French car manufacturer Renault for model year 1996, and was the successor to the Renault 19. The Mégane has been offered in three- and five-door hatchback, saloon, coupé, converti ...

sedan into the lead vehicle in the Gendarmerie convoy. The Renault immediately caught fire. The car contained an AK-47 assault rifle, handguns, a gas canister, as well as a quantity of explosives sufficient to "blow this car up." The attacker was killed by police and the incident came under counter-terrorism investigation. The Department of Interior stated that explosives had been found in his car. The French Minister of the Home Office,

Gérard Collomb Gérard Collomb (; born 20 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Mayor of Lyon from 2001 to 2017 and again from 2018 until 2020. A member of La République En Marche! (LREM) since he left the Socialist Party (PS) in 2017, he was Ministe ...

, spoke of a planned attack. The attacker was known by the police. A letter written by the perpetrator declaring his allegiance to the Islamic State was found inside the vehicle.

Perpetrator

The attacker was identified as Djaziri (alt. Dzaziri) Adam Lotfi, 31, a resident of the northwestern Paris suburb of

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...

. He was a scion of a "Salafist family". The perpetrator had been included on the "S" file, i.e., was " an individual considered to be a serious threat to national security." The reason for his inclusion on the ''fiche S'' was his belonging to the "radical islamist movement". He was known by the police. Even though he was considered dangerous, he got a weapon license. The attacker had obtained a legal permit to own a gun as a consequence of deliberate decision of French secret service which allowed him to keep his firearms in order not to arouse suspicion that he is being monitored. On the day following the attack, four relatives of the driver were taken into police custody. On the day of the attack, the perpetrator mailed letters pledging his allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. At least two different photos of the perpetrator emerged in the Internet. On YouTube videos it showed a middle aged man, while on Kapitalis.com showed a man in his early twenties.

Claim of responsibility

On 13 July 2017, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on a list of attacks it carried out during the holy month of

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

, including another failed bombing at Brussels Central Station on 20 June, the day after the Champs-Élysées attack.

References

External links

''The Washington Post'' video
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