French terror suspect took selfie with beheaded victim

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People observe a minutes of silence in Quentin-Fallavier, southeast of Lyon, France, Saturday June 27, 2015, to pay their respects to the victim of the attack which took place yesterday in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, June 26. A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office says one of the four suspects detained over an explosion and beheading in southeast France has been released, while the suspected assassin isn’t speaking to investigators. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

The top suspect in the beheading of a businessman that French authorities are calling a terrorist attack took a “selfie” photo with the slain victim and sent the image via WhatsApp to a Canadian mobile phone number, officials said on Saturday.

French investigators were working to determine the recipient’s identity, but weren’t able to immediately confirm media reports that it was an unspecified person now in Syria, where the radical Islamic State group has seized territory, the security officials said.

The revelation added a macabre twist to an investigation that has not turned up a solid link to radical or foreign groups, but has revived concerns about terrorism in France less than six months after deadly attacks in the Paris area.

Top suspect Yassine Salhi, a truck driver with a history of radical Islamic ties, as well as his sister and wife remained in police custody in the city of Lyon, a day after he allegedly crashed a truck into a U.S.-owned chemical warehouse and hung his employer’s severed head on a factory gate, officials said.

One of the officials said the selfie was forwarded via WhatsApp, the globally popular instant messaging system owned by Facebook, to a phone number in Canada. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

Report by Associated Press.