Following coordinated terror attacks, Sarkozy calls for dramatic measures, interior minister declares closure of hate-preaching mosques; Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa pounded by French airstrikes
French politicians proposed unprecedented measures to deal with Islamic terror and France bombed the Islamic State stronghold in Raqqa on Sunday, two days after the coordinated attacks that left at least 129 dead in Paris. A manhunt after an additional suspect was underway Sunday.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and current President of the Republicans proposed on France’s TF1 channel placing all people with an “S”(State Security) file under house arrest or making them wear electronic bracelets.
In the wake of the deadly Friday attacks, Sarkozy has hammered out a series of harsh measures to deal with the threat of additional attacks.
Recalling that “there are 11,500 people who have the ‘S’ file,” Sarkozy was miffed that “all those who were behind the recent attacks had the aforementioned file. He then justified his proposal by arguing that its application would allow police to “know where these people are, what they do, and assess the danger.
“It is not realistic to let these people loose in nature and act as if they do not pose a potential risk,” fulminated the former president.
Sarkozy also proposed on TF1 that “the imams who preach radical Islam in Salafist mosques be forcibly evicted, that the 520 young French people who are in Syria and Iraq who return be immediately put in prison.”
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, for his part, announced Sunday night on France 2 TV that France will close down all mosques which preach hate following the deadly attack – and that the process has already begun.
Also Sunday, French fighter jets launched their biggest raids in Syria to date targeting Raqqa. “The raid … including 10 fighter jets, was launched simultaneously from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Twenty bombs were dropped,” the statement said, adding that the mission had taken place this evening.
The operation, carried out in coordination with US forces, struck a command center, recruitment center for jihadists, a munitions depot and a training camp for fighters, it said.
As reported by Ynetnews