RELIGIOUS leaders in Dorset have called for unity following the series of deadly terrorist attacks which have claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people in recent weeks.

And some are reviewing security following the latest incident which saw an elderly priest killed in a church in northern France.

Teenage killer Adel Kermiche, who was arrested twice last year trying to reach Syria, slit the 84-year-old’s throat and took four other people hostage at the Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church. Kermiche, 19, was killed by police.

The horrific attack was described as “a double violation” by Father Tom Grufferty parish priest of St Joseph’s in Purewell.

He added: “Places of worship have been places of sanctuary for hundreds of years.

“Churches are soft targets and it might be necessary to put in place some security but we must not panic. We need to stand together in solidarity and look out for each other.”

He said parishioners in Christchurch have prayed for Jacques Hamel, the murdered priest.

Rabbi Maurice Michaels, of the Bournemouth Reform Synagogue, said Jews strive to integrate “because Judaism places great emphasis on people living in harmony together, whatever their religious or cultural background.”

He said security measures are already in place and added: “People are concerned that the conflicts of North Africa and the Middle East are being transported into Europe along with the immigrants trying to escape the horrors there.

“It places a need for greater security and protection in Europe.”

Majid Yasin, the director of Bournemouth Islamic Centre, has previously condemned these types of attacks telling the Echo “they are not Muslims, they are criminals”.

He has urged worshippers to show solidarity and unity against the terrorists.

The latest incident follows the Bastille Day Massacre in Nice which killed 84 people and the shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando.