Man decapitated in France 'was suspect's boss'

It is being reported the man decapitated in an attack at a French gas canister plant was the boss of the chief suspect.

A security official said the victim was the head of a local transportation company who is believed to have been killed before the explosion. His name was not released.

Authorities said his body was found near the site of the attack in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, south-east of Lyon. His head was attached to a gate at the entrance to the factory.

The suspect, who has been arrested, was investigated previously over possible ties to Islamist radicals.

A police intelligence official said the man who was detained was Yassine Salhi, who is in his 30s and from the Lyon suburb of Saint-Priest.

Security officials picked up two people from Salhi’s apartment, one of them said to be Salhi’s wife.

France attack latest:
- Security at highest level
- Suspect Yacinne Sali & wife detained http://t.co/7FuvOcvhSn pic.twitter.com/7lOcEgHVJW

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) June 26, 2015

Two more people were injured in the attack, authorities said.

President Francois Hollande, speaking in Brussels, said the attack began when a car crashed through the gate of the factory and ploughed into gas canisters, touching off an explosion.

“No doubt about the intention – to cause an explosion,” Mr Hollande said, calling the attack “of a terrorist nature”.

Mr Hollande later raised the security alert to the highest level for three days in the south-eastern region.

He announced the move following a high-level security meeting, hours after the attack.

The president said the key question is to determine whether there were any accomplices.

Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said a man who had been flagged in 2006 for suspected ties to extremists was seized by an alert firefighter, and was one of multiple people in custody after the attack.