French President Describes Recent Attack in the Country as 'Terrorist'

François Hollande, the President of France, described the attack on a factory in the southeast of the country on Friday morning as 'terrorist.' According to the French news agency, Mr. Hollande stated that the attacker has been identified, and there may be another assailant. Following the attack, the French President abandoned his presence at the European Union summit in Brussels and returned to his country. François Hollande said: 'This attack occurred by a vehicle that had a driver; he may have had another accomplice. [The vehicle] entered the factory, which had gas cylinders, at high speed.' Reuters and some other sources report that the vehicle had two occupants. On Friday morning, in the attack on a gas factory in southeastern France, one person was killed, and several others were injured. A severed head with Arabic words written on it was also attached to the entrance of the factory. It is still unclear whether the victim's head was severed at the site or transported from another location to the gas factory. This attack occurred on Friday morning, the 5th of Tir, in an industrial area between the cities of Lyon and Grenoble, near the border of France with Switzerland and Italy. The Associated Press reported, citing a security official, that a decapitated body was found near the factory entrance. According to this security official, two attackers carrying writings in Arabic drove a vehicle into the factory and detonated materials. One of the attackers has been arrested. Reuters identified the gas factory involved in the incident as an American factory. Meanwhile, the French news agency reports that the severed head was covered with phrases in Arabic and attached to the factory's entrance. This report adds that the suspect in the incident was 'known' to French security services. Arabic banners and an 'Islamic flag' were also found at the scene. The French prosecutor's office announced that anti-terror units have been dispatched to the scene for investigations. Following this attack, the level of security threats in France has significantly increased. France witnessed a terrorist attack last year by two Muslim brothers on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which resulted in the deaths of 12 cartoonists and staff members of the magazine. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo attack. Protests and marches in Muslim countries against Charlie Hebdo continue, and the alert status regarding terrorist threats in Europe remains ongoing. The U.S. Secretary of State has warned against 'Islamophobia' in response to a WikiLeaks report: France summoned the U.S. ambassador.