PARIS (Dispatches) -- French President Francois Hollande has said Daesh’s threat to France and Europe has never been so severe as now, after two assailants loyal to the Takfiri group attacked a church and slit the throat of an elderly priest.
In a brief televised address, he said the war against terrorism both abroad and at home would be long.
"In the face of this threat that has never been greater in France and Europe, the government is absolutely determined (to defeat) terrorism," Hollande said.
He made the remarks after two knife-wielding men took a number of people hostage at a church in the Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray town of France’s northern Normandy region and slit the throat of an elderly priest.
The two assailants were later shot and killed by police officers. After the incident, Amaq news agency, which is affiliated to the Takfiri terrorist group, announced that two of its members had carried out the attack.
The assault was the latest in a wave of attacks in Europe inspired by Daesh terrorist group, mainly based in Iraq and Syria.
Hollande said France should "use all its means” within the law to fight Daesh, adding the war on the terrorist group would be "long” both abroad and at home.
"The government is applying and will apply, with the most extreme firmness, the laws we voted and which give the justice system, police commissioners, police forces and intelligence services, the capacity to act, all this amplified by the extension and reinforcement of the state of emergency.”
A state of emergency has been in place in France since last November, when assailants struck at least six different venues in and around the capital, Paris, leaving 130 people dead and over 350 others injured.
The city of Nice also saw a deadly assault on July 14, when 84 people were killed. Daesh claimed responsibility for both acts of terror.
Last week, the French parliament extended the state of emergency for another six months.
The Hollande administration is under fire for what is said to be security failings. It stands accused of not doing enough to protect the population.
Prime Minster Manuel Valls has warned that more attacks by Takfiri terrorists may hit France.
Paris has been supporting militant groups fighting the Syrian government and French policies have been blamed for the rise of terror groups in Syria and Iraq.
In February, the European Union's criminal intelligence agency Europol said up to 5,000 trained members of Daesh were at large in Europe.
Some 30,000 militants from over 100 countries have reportedly traveled to Syria and Iraq since 2011 to join the ranks of Takfiri terrorist groups.
Eager to see the back of the Syrian government, many European countries initially turned a blind eye to the flow of citizens to the Middle East, ignoring warnings that they would return someday and hit back at home.