France February 22 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): One person died and two police officers were seriously injured Saturday in a knife attack in eastern France that President Emmanuel Macron said was an “Islamist terror act”.
Prosecutors said that three more officers were lightly wounded in the attack in the city of Mulhouse, carried out by a 37-year-old suspect who is on a terror prevention watchlist, called FSPRT, prosecutor Nicolas Heitz told AFP.
The suspect was arrested.
France’s national anti-terror prosecutors unit , which has taken charge of the investigation, said the suspect first attacked the municipal police officers, shouting “Allahu Akbar” .
Witnesses confirmed to AFP that the suspect had several times shouted the words that are used by Muslims as an exclamation of their faith.
A civilian passer-by who intervened was fatally injured, the PNAT said in a statement.
According to Mulhouse prosecutors, he was a 69-year-old Portuguese national.
Macron said there was “no doubt” that the incident was “a terrorist act”, specifically “an Islamist terrorist act”.
The government was determined to continue doing “everything to eradicate terrorism on our soil”, Macron added.
The FSPRT watchlist compiles data from various authorities on individuals with the aim of preventing “terrorist” radicalisation. It was launched in 2015 following deadly attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s offices and on a Jewish supermarket.
Summary: A knife attack attributed to Islamist motives leaves one dead and multiple police officers wounded, sparking concerns over security and rising tensions.