عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Manhunt in France for Prison-break Gang that Gunned Down Officers

French forensic police inspect a vehicle at the toll station of Incarville, near Rouen, in the North of France. EPA/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON
French forensic police inspect a vehicle at the toll station of Incarville, near Rouen, in the North of France. EPA/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON
TT
TT

Manhunt in France for Prison-break Gang that Gunned Down Officers

French forensic police inspect a vehicle at the toll station of Incarville, near Rouen, in the North of France. EPA/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON
French forensic police inspect a vehicle at the toll station of Incarville, near Rouen, in the North of France. EPA/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON

A massive manhunt was underway in France on Wednesday for an armed gang that killed two prison officers and seriously injured three others to spring an inmate they were escorting.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said “unprecedented” efforts were deployed, with hundreds of officers mobilized in the search for the escaped convict, Mohamed Amra, and the assailants who ambushed the convoy transporting him on Tuesday.
The violence of the attack shocked France. Prison workers held moments of silence Wednesday outside prisons in Paris and elsewhere to commemorate the officers who were killed.
Darmanin, speaking Wednesday on RTL radio, expressed hope that Amra could be caught “in the coming days.” Without giving full details about the extent of the manhunt, he said 450 officers had been deployed in the region of the attack to search for the assailants and clues about their whereabouts.
“The means employed are considerable," The Associated Press quoted him as saying. “We are progressing a lot.”
The convoy was transporting Amra back to jail in the Normandy town of Évreux after a court hearing in Rouen when it was ambushed on the A154 freeway.
Amra, 30, had a long criminal record, with at least 13 convictions for robbery and other crimes, the first when he was just 15, said Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau.
One of the officers killed was a 52-year-old captain in the prison service, where he had worked for nearly 30 years, and a father of two, the prosecutor said. The other officer killed, aged 34, was a married father-to-be, she said.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

North Korea’s Kim Oversees Test-Fire of Surface-to-Air Missiles

This picture taken on March 20, 2025 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 21, 2025 shows a test-fire of the latest anti-aircraft missile system to examine its comprehensive performance at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on March 20, 2025 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 21, 2025 shows a test-fire of the latest anti-aircraft missile system to examine its comprehensive performance at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
TT
TT

North Korea’s Kim Oversees Test-Fire of Surface-to-Air Missiles

This picture taken on March 20, 2025 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 21, 2025 shows a test-fire of the latest anti-aircraft missile system to examine its comprehensive performance at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on March 20, 2025 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 21, 2025 shows a test-fire of the latest anti-aircraft missile system to examine its comprehensive performance at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of the country's latest anti-aircraft missile system on Thursday, state media KCNA reported, as some experts said Pyongyang was probably getting technical help from Russia to perfect such systems.

Kim thanked what was referred to as a research group for the system. The test-firing showed it was "highly reliable" and its combat response was "advantageous," KCNA said in its report on Friday.

The test conducted by North Korea's Missile Administration was to examine the performance of a system whose production has already begun, it said.

KCNA did not specify where the test was held, but said Kim was joined by members of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.

Photographs supplied by KCNA showed a plume from a missile soaring into the sky and a mid-air explosion. Other images showed Kim apparently observing the test and then smiling.

Experts said Pyongyang might be receiving help from Russia for the anti-aircraft missile system, particularly given how security ties have become increasingly entwined.

"In the past North Korea has introduced Soviet weapon systems and developed weapons based on them, and it is highly likely that Russia has given correspondingly what North Korea demands because of the strengthening of cooperation," said Shin Seung-ki, head of research on North Korea's military at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.

South Korea's national security adviser said last year that Russia had provided North Korea with anti-air missiles and air defense equipment in return for sending troops to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

Shin also noted although North Korea has made ballistic missiles on its own, it was far harder to produce interceptor missiles without additional help.

"It's much more complicated because there's not just missiles, but a detection and tracking radar, and there's a command and control system," Shin said.

South Korea's military was aware in advance of a possible missile launch which ended up taking place about 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Thursday in North Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing an official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Seoul and Washington wrapped up their latest annual joint military drills, known as Freedom Shield, on Thursday. They say such exercises are defensive, but Pyongyang has long demanded a halt to US-South Korea joint exercises, branding them a prelude to an invasion.

In a statement carried by KCNA, a spokesperson for North Korea's defense ministry criticized the latest joint drills by South Korea and the United States, calling them "reckless" and "a rehearsal of war."

All options for containing the US and South Korea were being considered, including the use of the "most destructive and deadly military means", the statement said, while urging the militaries of both countries to stop their acts.