- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Austria in Touch With Religious Communities on Security After Normandy Attack

© AP Photo / Francois MoriFrench riot police guards the street to access the church where an hostage taking left a priest dead in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, France, Tuesday, July 26, 2016
French riot police guards the street to access the church where an hostage taking left a priest dead in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, France, Tuesday, July 26, 2016 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Additional security measures for places of worship might be introduced in Austria, such as "an enhanced presence of police in public areas in general and individual measures based on a needs assessment," after the attack on a church in northern France, according to a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Police and rescue workers stand at the scene after two assailants had taken five people hostage in the church at Saint-Etienne-du -Rouvray near Rouen in Normandy, France - Sputnik International
European Jewish Congress Says Normandy Church Attack Targeted All Religions
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Austrian authorities are in contact with religious communities over protective security measures for places of worship following the attack on a church in northern France, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry told Sputnik on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, two armed men took five people hostage at a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy. The attackers were later killed, while at least one hostage was murdered and three people were wounded, one severely. Soon after the incident, French media reported that one of the attackers was extradited back to France after trying to go to Syria in 2015 and put under police supervision.

"Authorities are in contact with communities, individual measures based on needs assessment [are being taken]," Karl-Heinz Grundboeck said, when asked if religious communities have recently been consulted on measures to enhance security at places of worship.

Two Armed Men Take Hostages in Church in France's Normandy - Sputnik International
Two Armed Men Take Hostages in Church in France's Normandy
He stressed that additional security measures for places of worship might be introduced in Austria, such as "an enhanced presence of police in public areas in general and individual measures based on a needs assessment."

Following the attack on the church in Normandy, claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, which is banned in Russia and many other countries, UK police urged religious institutions to assess the security measures currently in place. The Home Office also unveiled a multi-million dollar security funding scheme for places of worship in England and Wales to provide them with various equipment like CCTV, fencing, alarms and locks.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала