Yassine Salhi: What we know about the man accused of decapitation in France

The man accused of decapitating a man and causing a small explosion at a liquefied natural gas company on the outskirts of Lyon on Friday (26 June) has been identified as 35-year-old Yassine Salhi.

Bernard Cazeneuve, French minister of the interior, said the suspect was from the Saint-Priest suburb of Lyon and had been under surveillance by the secret services from 2006 to 2008 under a "record S," but that it was "not renewed".

Other than that Salhi has no criminal record, but Cazeneuve did claim he has ties to the Salafist movement. The religious movement promotes returning to a "pure" form of Islam, and the religious-political ideology Salafi jihadism is a branch of the group that supports violent jihad.

A fireman near the scene caught Salhi, according to Cazeneuve. Salhi was believed to be wounded and was taken into custody in an ambulance escorted by firefighters and police vehicles.

Salhi allegedly decapitated the 54-year-old male victim and then drove a vehicle into gas cylinders at the company causing an explosion.

A second suspect was arrested at their home in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier and is believed to be the driver of a vehicle used to scout the the gas company location.

The prefect of Isère, where the business is based, said that the vehicle used in the attack was one that was authorized to enter the site and may have been stolen.

Local police took Salhi's wife into custody as well. The couple has been married for ten years and have three children aged between six and nine.