French authorities have identified the man whose decapitated head was found after an attack on a factory near Lyon.
Herve Cornora was in charge of the transportation company that employed Yassin Salhi, the alleged attacker, according to CNN’s French affiliate BFMTV.
A memorial for Cornora, 54, was held Saturday in his hometown, Fontaines-sur-Saône, about seven miles (11.3 kilometers) north of Lyon. Residents of his neighborhood gathered to listen to the town’s mayor eulogize Cornora, who was a personal friend.
Mayor Thierry Pouzol said Cornora was deeply connected to his community and tried to help his neighbors. He “took care of others,” Pouzol said during the emotional tribute that was broadcast on French TV. “Today, we are all with Herve,” he said, and asked the people gathered to “maintain reserve and dignity to honor (Cornora’s) memory.”
The group also held a minute of silence.
Attack occurred at U.S.-owned company
Cornora’s severed head was found hanging from a fence, along with two banners that purportedly bear Islamic writing, outside the same factory where a large explosion occurred Friday. Police found his body in the suspect’s van.
The attack took place at a U.S.-owned factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, about 18 miles (30 km) outside of Lyon. The company, Air Products & Chemicals, supplies gases for industrial use.
It began when a delivery van allegedly driven by Salhi entered the facility Friday morning, according to Paris Prosecutor François Molins, whose office handles anti-terrorism cases throughout France.
The vehicle was allowed through the gates because the van had been used to make previous deliveries and Salhi was recognized as an employee of the transport company.
About seven minutes later, Salhi’s van appears on security cameras accelerating toward a warehouse containing canisters of gas, acetone and liquid air, Molins said. After another minute, there was an explosion so loud residents two miles away could hear it. The blast damaged the warehouse and destroyed the roof and back of the vehicle.
When firefighters arrived about five minutes after the explosion, they say they found Salhi trying to open canisters of acetone. He was then taken into custody, according to Molins. While examining the damage to the warehouse, officials found Cornora’s head tied to the factory’s fence, along with the flags. Molins said that the Islamic profession of faith was written on the fabric, but the French Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said the writing had not been translated.
Suspect had been on terrorist watch list
Authorities say Salhi has been married for 10 years and has three children. He was put on the French terrorist watch list in 2006. “[H]e continued to attract the attention of the intelligence services, particularly with regard to the Lyon region,” Molins said. Cazeneuve said the suspect was in touch with Muslim fundamentalist Salafists.
Investigators are still trying to piece together details of the attack, but Salhi’s wife and sister were taken into custody, along with another person, according to Molins. They are being investigated for involvement in a terrorist conspiracy.
French media is widely reporting that Salhi posed for a selfie with Cornora’s severed head, citing sources close to the case. CNN has not been able to independently confirm that such an image exists.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his condolences for the attack to Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. The two met Saturday in Vienna ahead of talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
Air Products & Chemicals says it is working closely with French authorities and that it has stepped up security at other locations around the world.
French authorities have raised the security level to maximum across the Rhone-Alpes region, according to BFMTV.
