France to honor 'hero' policeman who died in terrorist attack

The French policeman, Arnaud Beltrame, who voluntarily swapped places with a hostage during a siege on a supermarket in the town of Trebes will be remebered in a national tribute to be held at a later date. The gendarme died on Friday as a result of his bullet injuries.

"He fell as a hero, giving up his life to halt the murderous rampage of a jihadist terrorist," President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement shortly before dawn on Saturday. He "deserved the respect and admiration of the whole nation."

French police have detained a 17-year-old in connection with the probe into the terror attack that killed four people, including Beltrame.

The man is a friend of Friday's attacker, identified by prosecutors as Redouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old Moroccan-born French national. Lakdim was killed in a shootout at the supermarket.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said on Friday another person, a woman close to Lakdim, was taken into custody over alleged links to the terror attack. Molins didn't identify her.

An attacker claiming allegiance to the "Islamic State" (IS) perpetrates a string of violent crimes in the southern town of Trebes during the day's morning hours. He kills a man while stealing a car and then fires shots at police officers before entering a Super U grocery, where he takes hostages. Police fatally shoot the attacker. There are at least two fatal victims and three injured.

'Not surprised by son's courage'

On Friday, officer Beltrame offered himself up unarmed to the attacker in exchange for a female hostage. He managed to keep his cellphone on, enabling his colleagues outside to listen in on events inside the supermarket.

When they heard shots being fired, the police stormed the building and killed the gunman.

Beltrame's mother said she wasn't surprised by her son's courage.

"I'm not surprised. I knew it had to be him. He has always been like that. It's someone, since he was born, who gives everything for his homeland," she told French RTL radio on Friday before the announcement of his death.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb also lauded the 44-year-old officer's heroic action. In a tweet, Collomb said Beltrame had died for his country and that France would not forget "his heroism, his bravery, his sacrifice."

The national gendarmerie said its flags would fly at half-mast on Saturday in tribute to the slain officer.

'IS' claims responsibility

The "Islamic State" (IS)-linked Aamaq news agency said the attacker was responding to the group's calls to target countries in a US-led military coalition that includes France. The coalition has been fighting the terrorist group in Syria and Iraq since 2014.

"Our country has suffered an Islamist terrorist attack," Macron said on Friday, while noting that investigators were verifying the IS claim.

Macron also said that investigators were looking into how the attacker obtained his gun and when he had become radicalized.

More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who either pledged allegiance to "Islamic State" or were inspired by the group.