Paris knife attack seen as terror-related

A knife attack in a park in the Paris area on Friday that left one man dead and two women injured is being treated as terror-related.

French prosecutors said a knife attack that left one man dead and two women injured in a park in the Paris area on Friday is being treated as terror-related.

In a statement Saturday, French prosecutors said investigations revealed that the attacker, who was shot dead by police, had been radicalised and had prepared the attack in Villejuif, in the southern suburbs of Paris.

They said their investigations now justify a probe into "murder and attempted murder in relation to a terrorist undertaking".

Earlier on Saturday, Creteil prosecutor Laure Beccuau described the attacker as a 22-year-old man with a long and serious psychiatric history.

Speaking at a news conference, she said he had converted to Islam between May and July 2019 and that he shouted "Allahu akbar" - "God is great" in Arabic - several times during the attack.

She said the attacker left his first intended victim alone when the latter told him he was Muslim and recited a prayer in Arabic at his request.

He then attacked a woman who was jogging with her husband, dealing the latter a fatal blow when he tried to protect her. The woman was also injured in the neck but has since left hospital.

A third victim, a young woman jogging near the park, sustained minor injuries. Several others escaped the man.

Beccuau added that investigators are also looking into the attacker's phone calls and computer equipment. No accomplice has been identified.

Philippe Bugeaud, deputy director of the judicial police, said a letter and several books about Islam were found in his bag, including some about Salafism, widely considered to be a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam.

Two women injured in the attack have left the hospital.


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Source: AAP



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