(Reuters) The armed man who seized six hostages in a French bank on Thursday spoke to negotiators of hardships facing Palestinians and called himself a mujahid but made no reference to Islamist groups, a police source involved in the operation said.
The 34-year-old suspect had a history of mental health illness and spent time in a psychiatric hospital after taking several hostages in another bank in 2013, two security sources said.
On that occasion, he demanded social housing for himself and a handicapped son, they added.
During the six-hour-long negotiations with police in Le Havre on Thursday, the suspect referred to the Prophet Mohammed and at times spoke in Arabic. But he never expressed support for Islamic State or other jihadist groups, the police source familiar with the negotiations said.
