A knife attack during a demonstration in the eastern French city of Mulhouse on Saturday left one person dead and seriously injured two police officers. French President Emmanuel Macron described the attack as “no doubt an Islamist terror act.”
A man attacked local police officers in the city of Mulhouse shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) on Saturday afternoon, the PNAT prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
A passer-by was killed trying to intervene, while three police officers were injured, the prosecutor’s office added. BBC reported that the incident took place at a demonstration in support of the Congo, where the police officers were on patrol.
As per an AFP report, the France Knife attack was carried out by a 37-year-old suspect who is on France’s terror prevention watchlist, known as FSPRT. The list, established in 2015 following attacks on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket, compiles data from various authorities to monitor individuals at risk of “terrorist” radicalization.
The suspect, identified as being born in Algeria, was under judicial supervision, house arrest, and subject to an expulsion order from France, according to union sources. The suspect has been arrested, the prosecutor’s office said.
The attack took place shortly before 4:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) during a demonstration in support of Congo. One of the seriously wounded officers sustained an injury to the carotid artery, while the other was wounded in the thorax, Heitz said.
Following the incident, police established a security perimeter around the area. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was expected to visit the scene later in the day.
Mulhouse Mayor Michèle Lutz called the attack a “horrific” event for the city, stating that while it was being investigated as a terror attack, “this must obviously still be confirmed by the judiciary.” France’s national anti-terror prosecutor’s office (PNAT) has taken charge of the investigation.
(with inpts from Reuters)
