Two men arrested over French church attack

Two men were placed under formal investigation over the murder of a priest in a Normandy church last week.

Farid K, 30, a cousin of attacker Abdel Malik Petitjean, was arrested on suspicion of "terrorist association", and Jean-Philippe Steven J, 20, was put under formal investigation for allegedly attempting to travel to Syria in June with Petitjean. The men are both being held in custody in relation to the investigation into the attack on Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen last Tuesday.

19 year-olds Petitjean and accomplice Adel Kermiche were both shot dead by police on the scene

The men had interrupted a church service taking a number of hostages and slitting the throat of 86-year-old Father Jacques Hamel.

The so-called Islamic State has since released a video showing the Petitjean and Kermiche  pledging their allegiance to the group.

Petitjean had been on a watch list as a potential security threat since June after trying to enter Syria from Turkey, while Kermiche was also known to the security services.

Meanwhile, Muslims across France attended a Catholic Mass in a gesture of solidarity after the murder, with France's Muslim council, the CFCM, urging Muslims to show "solidarity and compassion" over the killing.